Michael Hyatt's Blog, page 15

Don’t Sabotage Your Company With This Oversight

If you want your company to grow, the solution probably isn’t a better strategy. Your leadership is the cap of your company. If you’re not growing, your company won’t be, either—with consequences for your results, your team, and your impact on the world.

The Trick to Creating More Time

As we move into December many of us find ourselves busier than ever. The goals that we had set for our work for the year are approaching the finish line. Not only are we working to ensure that the goals for 2020 are met, but we are also beginning to work on developing our goals for next year. 

This big list of tasks and projects that need to be completed means thousands of decisions that must be made. This scenario can easily snowball into unproductive days in which you aren’t able to focus well and move through your to do list. I have found utilizing templates for my days allows me to prioritize my time and ensure that the most important tasks are completed efficiently. 

I want to encourage you to consider using them as well. Just like smaller rituals can optimize your mornings, creating a template for your day and week can help maximize productivity.

Templates for Your Day 

As my company has grown, we have also implemented these templates across our team in order to help ensure maximum productivity for our entire company as well. This practice has helped to protect the most important, deep thinking work that drives our business forward. It also helps set a clear boundary for “out of the business” work or personal time. 

Much like the Habit Loop, creating templates for your day allows you to automate your day and removes some of the decision making—giving you more mental energy and clarity to complete big projects. This practice also allows you to batch your tasks together so that you are able to maximize efficiency.

How to Create a Template

In order to create effective templates for your day, you must first take the time to map out your typical week. Take a weekly calendar and complete the following shading to all seven days of the week:

Shade your sleep times gray.
Color your most energetic and alert times of each day of the week green.
Shade the time that you feel less focused yellow.
Draw boundaries on the calendar around each block of time that you are awake. These three boundaries or blocks of time should include “off the business”, “on the business”, and “in the business”. 

The goal is to align each area with the color on your calendar which will allow you to work the most efficiently. I batch my tasks into groups of similar activities that will allow me to flow from one project to the next. This might mean that certain days of the week are allotted for only meetings, and other days are set aside to work through projects. For some people, it may be the most efficient to set aside every morning when they are the most energized for their deep thinking work and move all meetings to the afternoon. 

The key is to look at your calendar and align the tasks according to the template that will work best for you. Then, as you start each week you will already have decided what needs to be accomplished each day in order to achieve that week’s goals. 

In our book, No-Fail Habits, we dive deeper into batching your tasks and installing templates that will work best for you as an individual and your team. 

Grateful: A Look Back at Our Story

To become more grateful, we need to slow down. To look back. To celebrate. In this very human episode laced with gratitude, Megan and Michael share the story of creating Michael Hyatt and Company. Listen to get a behind-the-scenes look at how they built a business around the Double Win and catch the pieces of business insight they uncover along the way.

Why Gratitude Is More Important Than Ever

This year is certainly a year for the books. It’s been one that has been filled with uncertainty and fear. And yet, it’s up to us whether or not that is how we remember it. 

This Thanksgiving I challenge you to make it a season of focusing on thankfulness instead of dwelling on the negative. We all have the power to change our mindset, to shift our perspective from one of frustration or anxiety to positivity and hope. 

In my experience, the people who are the most uplifting are those who have cultivated a habit of gratitude. They are the people who, even in the most difficult circumstances, always find reasons to be thankful. We all know those people, but what is their secret? How do they maintain this positive outlook?

This habit or mindset of gratitude didn’t just happen overnight. No habit does. It is something that takes intentionality and practice. And it is vital to living a well-balanced life. Research shows us that gratitude helps people live longer and healthier lives. 

So, this week as we stop to celebrate Thanksgiving, I want to leave you with four gratitude challenges to help cultivate thankfulness.

Recognize those around us. In our fast-paced world, we move from one project to the next without stopping to appreciate what was accomplished. Set aside ten minutes this week to let someone around you know just how much you appreciate them. I challenge you to do something to show your gratitude. Bring your colleague who helped you on a big project, a coffee tomorrow morning. Or if your spouse went out of their way to do something for you, leave them a note of thanks. These simple, tangible acts of gratitude do not take much time, but they yield benefits for both you and the recipient. 
Acknowledge the growth challenges can bring. We have all faced new challenges and obstacles this year. I challenge you to write down at least one obstacle you have faced and what positive experience came from it. This will help to remind you of the strength you had to work through it and inspire gratitude for who and what helped you along the way. By focusing on the positive rather than the negative, you will find it easier to develop a mindset of gratitude despite the circumstances outside of your control.
Say thank you for the little things. Many times we forget to say thank you to those who consistently keep up with and manage all of the daily tasks required for our work to be done or for our household to run smoothly. Pick a time each day where you have a few free moments to text or email those people a quick thank you. This can be an easy way to develop a habit of gratitude if you take time to do it daily.
Set aside time for your own personal reflection. Spend at least ten minutes reflecting on the reasons you have to be grateful. Take the time to make a list. It’s incredible how the simple act of writing down what you have to be thankful for can change your attitude and perspective. This mindset of gratitude is compelling. When you take the time to focus on it within yourself you will often find others inspired by it as well.

I have found that the more I recognize the good, the happier I am. I think you’ll find it does the same for you.

Your Habits Should Change with Seasons

Your habits exist to work for you. But sometimes, it doesn’t seem that way. Changes in your family or job can make once-helpful habits impossible. You don’t have time for them, but you feel like you should. If habits are supposed to help you, why do you feel so frustrated?

The Secret to Creating Lasting Habits

For many of us, 2020 has upended our established routines or habits. As we get ready to move into the busy holiday season, it can be even harder to get back on track. Consider what habits you’re missing in your daily schedule.

I want to challenge the idea that in order to create a new habit you have to channel a certain superhero level of will-power. In fact, I’ve found that the people who appear to have the most will-power or self-control are not actually making those habitual decisions each day. These routines, whether it is running every morning or meditating before bed each night, have actually become automated. The subconscious takes over and these routines are in fact being made on auto-pilot. But how do you go about creating these automations to keep you on track?

Looking Forward

It can be easy this time of year to put off starting any new habits or personal goals. The downside to that is in doing so you actually add to your stress. Feelings of guilt or disappointment that you didn’t create a habit can be very discouraging. But you’re not alone. Just because you haven’t been successful in the past doesn’t mean you can’t be successful now. You just need a fresh outlook and a plan. 

The Habit Loop

To automate any decision or habit, you need to create a habit loop. As we walk through the steps to create a habit loop, I encourage you to think about your goals and use these simple steps to work toward accomplishing them.

Create an activation trigger. The key to setting yourself up for success when establishing a new habit is to think of a natural cue that you can use to remind your subconscious of what you want to do. If you want to start journaling at the end of each day, set your journal out after making your bed in the morning so that you can’t forget each evening.
Think through your response. This is the behavior that you want to become second nature. Make sure that whatever activation trigger you choose naturally elicits the result you want without having to make deliberate choices. The goal is to reduce the number of decisions you have to actively make each day. This practice frees up energy to focus on areas that require more creativity and innovation—and relieves stress.
Focus on the reward. By thinking about the feeling you will get when you accomplish your goal, you help to set yourself up for success. If you want to start exercising every day, focus on the extra boost of energy you have throughout the day after working out.
Give yourself time. Creating lasting habits takes time. Research varies depending on the habit you are trying to create, but give yourself 60–90 days before the habit truly becomes second nature. A lot of people aren’t able to successfully create a new habit simply because they don’t give themselves enough time for it to become automated.  

I encourage you to use the rest of 2020 to create habits that will help propel you into a successful 2021. If you like to check things off, use the StreakTracker in your Full Focus Planner. While many of the challenges of this year have been outside of our control, we do have the power to determine what steps we will take to finish out the year strong. 

What habit can you start today?

The Keys to Creating Habits that Last

The ability to establish habits is a powerful skill—but too many people give up only a few weeks in. It’s bound to happen when you fail to harness one of your most important assets in habit creation: your why.

How to Create Meaningful Habits that Encourage Gratitude

Habits tend to become ingrained in our routines without us ever intending for them to be. Whether we realize it or not, humans center their lives around routines. But without taking the time to step back and create intentional habits, we could be allowing our lives to become centered around the wrong things. 

I want to challenge you to take hold of your day, your mindset, your goals.  Create intentional, lasting habits that will help you achieve the success you dream of. The most successful individuals I know have taken the time to step back and analyze each aspect of their lives, and intentionally work to create habits that are life-giving. 

Stop and think for a moment. What things do you do every single day? Were they things that you intended to take such an important place in your daily schedule? In the book, No Fail Habits, we break down how to develop and implement a system of strong habits that will make you more productive and keep your priorities from being pushed aside.

The habit I want to dive into today is creating a daily habit of gratitude. And it’s one that I consider to be one of the most important keys to success not only in your personal life but in achieving your business goals as well. And here’s why. By carving out time in your morning and evening rituals to reflect on the people or things in your life you are most thankful for, you remind yourself of your priorities and your goals.

This simple practice helps you start the day centered on what matters most to you. In No Fail Habits, we give you ideas for what to incorporate into your morning ritual. It helps to ensure you arrive to work feeling rested and prepared for your day. How exactly you incorporate gratitude in your morning ritual is a personal choice. Some ideas could be to journal, meditate, or read inspirational literature that encourages you to reflect on what you are most grateful for. 

Depending on your life stage, this morning ritual could also incorporate a few minutes of family time where each person shares what they are thankful for that day. Even a few minutes, when used intentionally, will help center your mindset and create the positive energy to help make the most of your day.

At the end of the day, we also encourage you to establish an evening ritual. And here, we again, you need to intentionally create time to incorporate gratitude into your routine. This can be as simple as sharing with your spouse your wins from the day. Expressing what you were thankful for that helped you achieve those successes.

Here are 3 steps to help you incorporate the habit of gratitude into your daily routine. 

Take time to reflect on your morning routine. Make a list of the items that you do each morning to begin your day. Establish the order of these elements and make sure to add in a few minutes of time to reflect on areas of gratitude. Remember the goal of this morning ritual is to help you start your day centered and rested.




Each evening, finish your day recognizing the wins and what you were thankful for that day. Your day could have been stressful and full of challenges. However, by focusing on what you were grateful for that day and how it helped achieve even a small win, you are reinforcing a habit of gratitude that will make you a more successful and positive person both at work and in your personal life in the long run.




Share what you are grateful for. Take the time to share with someone, whether it is your spouse, other family member, or friend what you were thankful for that day. Perhaps, a coworker helped you out on a big project. Express your thanks and appreciation. Believe me, in doing so, you will lift up not only yourself but them as well.

I have found that a strong and successful leader is one who is able to incorporate gratitude into their habits and daily routines. It reminds them of their goals and why they matter. 

Upgrade Your Habits, Change Your Life

Whether you notice them or not, you have habits. Some—like sleeping through your alarm or cutting it close on your deadlines—undermine your success. Others chart a path towards achieving your goals.

Why Every Leader Needs a Hobby

You love your work. But when you concentrate your attention and energy solely in your work, you actually undermine your success. You narrow your perspective. You become more prone to burnout. And, you stunt your learning. The solution? Find a hobby.