6 Habits That Put You Ahead of 99% of People

It doesn't take brilliance to stand out from the crowd. It's enough if you adopt a few basic habits that you consistently implement. In this blog post, I want to show you my 6 most important habits that have brought me a lot of success both professionally and personally.

Overview

1. Remember people's names
2. Arrive early
3. Don't leave until the job is well done
4. Preparation the night before
5. Follow up
6. Improve one thing each time

1. Remember people's names

It may seem like a simple gesture, but it has a great impact. Remembering the name of the person you are talking to shows respect and appreciation. When you meet someone new, make a point to ask for their name again. If you're like me and find it hard to remember names right away, don't hesitate to ask again. Repeat the person's name immediately and look them in the eyes while doing so.

Address the person by their name several times during your conversation. This fosters trust and strengthens your connection. This small gesture can open big doors in both personal and professional relationships.

2. Arrive early

Being on time is not just a matter of punctuality, but a sign of respect and reliability. Show the people who rely on you that you take your commitments seriously. No matter how much trust you have built up beforehand (e.g., through good performance), if you regularly arrive late to agreed meetings, any trust is quickly lost.

3. Don't leave until the job is well done

Quality is crucial in every industry. People are willing to spend a lot of money for good performance and products. Displaying outstanding performance makes you memorable, and clients will queue up. Delivering excellent work means that you often have to stick with a task longer than you might have planned. You will often work overtime and may need to repeat something multiple times. As long as it takes until the result is not just good but excellent. Give your all to achieve good results, even if it means staying longer.

Your expertise and commitment will be noticed and remembered by people.

4. Preparation the night before

Success and excellent performance start the night before. Put yourself in a position of advantage by sitting down before the start of a task or the delivery of a service and consciously taking time to plan. Think about it. Every task can be divided into thinking work, hard work, and experimental work. Look specifically for these areas in your upcoming task. There is always something you can do the night before or during the time before the performance. You can think things through and prepare them through careful planning. This allows you to identify initial obstacles and develop ideas to overcome them. Every little thought is a step towards your goals.

How I approach new projects

When I start a new project, whether it's my own project or a client project, I deliberately reserve time in advance to think through the pending task. I then mentally go through all the steps necessary to make the project a success. This may sound unspectacular, I know, but when was the last time you really took time to think consciously? Time when you sit on a comfortable chair and have nothing with you but your thoughts. No smartphone, no TV. Just sit and think.

At the end of your thinking session, I write down the most important thoughts. I currently use Google Keep for this, but it doesn't matter whether you use an app or a notebook. What's important is that you keep your thoughts in one central place and can quickly access them again at any time.

5. Follow up

Take a few minutes after every meeting, phone call, or encounter to write down the most important points from it. Send the person you were in exchange with a small note afterwards summarizing the key points of your meeting. In a business context, these are usually the specific points discussed and the actions both sides derive from them. In a personal context, however, they can also be feelings, such as the joy of a long-awaited reunion. Following up and showing appreciation to your counterpart shows that you have noticed the person and take their thoughts seriously. It also shows that you listened and understood what the encounter was about.

Following up can often make the difference between a missed opportunity and one that is worth pursuing.

Example of a follow-up email after a business meeting

Subject: "Our discussion on Tuesday about the progress of our app"

Message:

Hello XXXX,

I would like to thank you again for the constructive conversation yesterday. This has given me a lot of clarity and I would like to briefly hold the discussed points in this email.

1. The design has been consistently well received
2. The login mask should be improved. Our UI designer will prepare a draft
3. The task list in the app should be set up in two lines to ensure quick readability for longer task descriptions

I will get back to you on the above points on XX.XX.

I am always available for further questions.

Kind regards,

Niko Fischer"

This is one of my standard follow-up messages. It is divided into 3 areas:

1. I thank for the conversation
2. I list the discussed points
3. I mention a binding date when I will get back

6. Improve one thing each time

Continuous improvement is the key to sustainable success. Every time you complete a task, ask yourself: "What can I do better next time?", "Where is there a need for improvement?". Look for the low-hanging fruit here and take care of the points that are most obvious and easiest to improve.

In Japanese, there is the term "Kaizen", which means "continuous improvement". The idea behind it is that many small changes and improvements enable long-term business success.

Overcome perfectionism and systematize your progress

Create a system in which you purposefully bring about change for the better. After completing a task, write down what you want to do better next time.

For example, you can create a Google document where you briefly summarize a few key points about your project and then write down the points that bother you about the result. Talk to friends and relatives and ask them for brief feedback. Collect the input and write down two things you want to do differently next time.

Put your perfectionism aside. Perfectionists sabotage themselves because instead of starting something, they say, "I'll only start when I'm sure that the result will be perfect." But there are no perfect results, that's a fallacy! Even the absolute professional in his field will never achieve perfect results. Good results are achieved through the process: By doing things and constantly improving. Do and improve, do and improve, and so on. Focus on the input, as you have the greatest influence on it.

Remember: Done is better than perfect!