A healthy habit—like reading, meditating, or exercising—might take less than an hour of your day, but over time, it can contribute to lifelong success.
Success is objective. For example, to know your financial goals are on track, you can benchmark your progress against set numbers. But it’s also subjective. Are you satisfied with the life you’ve made for yourself? The answer to that question depends on your definition of success and what’s happening around the time you answer it.
If you’re looking to adjust your life and position yourself to be more successful, a great place to start is by establishing good habits. Read on to learn more about the habits of successful people and how they can help in your personal and professional journeys.
How to build good habits
Establishing successful habits takes some work, but with a little practice and discipline they can become almost second nature. No matter your definition of success—whether it means running a profitable business, living a fulfilling life, or making a lasting impact on the world—establishing desirable daily habits can help you meet your personal goals and be a successful person.
Good habits look different for everyone, but there are a handful that many successful people tend to share, and many that are backed by science. Let’s dig into some of these daily habits.
10 habits of successful people
Researchers have found that successful people share a number of common traits. Building the following habits into your daily routines can help put you on the path to success.
1. Set goals
It’s difficult to recognize success if you haven’t set clear goals. Even when you’re making progress, a moving goalpost can be frustrating and undermine your motivation. Establishing specific, concrete objectives with rough timelines to meet them can keep you on track and show you when your hard work has paid off. The SMART goals framework, which stands for specific, measurable, attainable, relevant, and time-bound, can be a good place to start. According to a 2023 Gallup poll, setting clear goals and writing them down makes people more likely to achieve them and to prioritize important tasks that make progress possible.
2. Wake up early
Disney CEO Bob Iger is one of the most successful people in his field. One of the ways he prioritizes his physical and mental health? Waking up early. In a 2024 interview, Iger said that he finds his early morning hours both “rejuvenating” and “meditative” before getting down to business. How early you wake up will depend on your body’s rhythms and schedule, but getting up and starting strong can be a great way to set the course for your whole day.
3. Get enough sleep
Though waking up early is a habit shared by many highly successful people, it shouldn’t come at the cost of getting enough sleep. Adequate sleep—eight to 10 hours for most adults—can positively affect physical and mental health. Even Albert Einstein, among his many interesting routines, slept 10 hours each night.
4. Work out
Though exercise may seem ancillary to productivity, a consistent exercise routine is one of the common shared habits of highly effective people. The type of exercise you do will depend on your preference, physical ability, location, and access, but the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends 150 minutes of moderate to intense physical activity per week. Just 30 minutes of exercise a day can make a huge difference in your overall physical and mental health, which is a crucial stepping stone to wider success. Instead of watching TV to unwind, consider taking a bike ride or listening to a podcast while you go for a run.
5. Read
When establishing new habits, it’s important to not just focus on your physical self, but also on your mind. Legendary investor Warren Buffett is a voracious reader, and like many other successful people, he’s a testament to the idea that continuous learning is an essential part of achievement and growth. Whether you’re reading nonfiction to develop new skills or research topics that interest you, or reading fiction to enjoy the beauty and complexity of language and the human experience, reading is a key habit to develop in your quest for success.
6. Meditate
Many studies show that daily meditation can have a positive impact on your health and well-being. And anecdotally, it makes sense that spending time on mental clarity in a noisy, tumultuous world can help center you and make life feel less chaotic. From great creative minds like film director David Lynch to tech leaders like Steve Jobs, meditation has long been a daily habit for many successful people. To get started, try 15 minutes of daily breathing and mindfulness exercises.
7. Reflect and practice gratitude
Oprah Winfrey once said, “The more you praise and celebrate your life, the more there is in life to celebrate.” It’s easy to get wrapped up in monitoring your progress in pursuit of specific goals and end up overlooking the successes you’ve already achieved. Whether you keep a daily journal or pause to sit for a few minutes to think through what has gone right, reflecting on your daily life experiences can nurture a positive mindset.
8. Schedule time to relax
Good habits aren’t just about working harder. It’s important to invest time in self care and give your mind and body a break from distractions, stress, and constant challenges. It’s easy to forget relaxation, or to feel guilty when you decide to stop work to kick back. While self care can occur organically, putting time aside that is specifically for relaxing is a good way to make it feel more important.
9. Collaborate and socialize
Though self improvement is often framed as a solitary practice, humans are deeply social creatures. Some of the best ideas come from teamwork, collaboration, and even casual conversations, something that’s somewhat harder to do in the post-pandemic era of remote work. Make a conscious effort to seek out people you admire and set up a time to chat—and try to schedule these conversations on a routine basis. You never know what might come of it.
10. Get outside and walk
Though it may not seem productive to spend time away from your work, walking is an incredible tool for sharpening not just the body, but the mind. According to a study in the Journal of Experimental Psychology, walking boosts creativity, and it’s especially effective when done outside in a natural setting. The author Robert Macfarlane writes of the power of walking outdoors in his book The Old Ways, and posits that doing so can not only expand your relationship to the earth, but to your interior self. This kind of insight can give you more clarity into your deepest priorities and goals.
4 habits to avoid
Just as successful people share a number of constructive habits, it’s also important to be aware of some common pitfalls that can make it harder for you to achieve your goals. Here are a few of them, and how to recognize them when they crop up:
1. Perfectionism
“Perfect is the enemy of good,” is a common aphorism that’s also good advice. Many people struggle with taking action due to a fear of failure. Instead of aiming high, they don’t take aim in the first place. If you’ve been working on a project for months or years that you’re endlessly tweaking, consider setting a concrete deadline or using an accountability partner to ensure you’ll finish, even if it falls short of your definition of perfect.
2. Procrastination
Much like perfectionism, procrastination can come from a place of fear or a desire to avoid discomfort. Though comfort zones have real importance in most peoples’ lives (they can help you conserve energy for the work you care about), it’s helpful to know when to push yourself out of a comfort zone and take action. One way to do this is to make a list of everything you’re putting off, and then promise yourself or a friend that you’ll check one thing off the list every week (or day, depending on the tasks). You may find that the guilt of avoidance feels worse than the momentary discomfort of doing the task.
3. Negative inner dialogue
It can be easy to fixate on past failures or your current struggles. A negative inner dialogue is a common counter-productive habit that can erode your confidence and keep you from doing the things you need to do. If you notice a voice in your head saying you’re not good enough for something, one strategy is to put a face to that voice. It might be easier to push it aside if you imagine Dr. Evil talking down to you.
4. Ignoring your body
Though there are certainly times to push through pain, discomfort, or fatigue, it’s also important to listen to your body. If your energy is flagging or you’re having difficulty concentrating, use it as a signal to change gears. Whether that’s taking a quick snack break or a few minutes to walk in the sun, taking care of yourself can ultimately make you more productive.
