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Success Advice

4 Easy Ways to Develop a Bias for Action Right Now

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bias for action

Let me guess, you’ve been putting something off recently. You’ve been dreaming of starting a business, writing a book, or talking to that attractive person in your office, but something deep inside you has stopped you from taking action.

The human mind is fantastic at coming up with reasons for not taking action. The human brain is designed to keep us safe and to conserve energy. For that reason, we are programmed to look for risks and reduce the amount of work we need to do to in order to survive. When we weigh any potential action, we look for reasons that specific action or activity will fail. At the same time, we look for ways that we can conserve energy and get the same benefit from less effort.

What this means is that those who are able to act in an incisive way and focus their energy, have a tremendous advantage compared to their peers. Research shows that those who are able to develop the habit for action are many times more likely to be successful in business and in their relationships than people who describe themselves as procrastinators or are unable to take regular action.

This habit is called the “bias for action”, and it refers to the tendency to make decisions quickly and take action on them regularly rather than getting side tracked by worry or doubt. But how do you develop such a valuable habit? Through practice, plain and simple.

Here are four ways to develop a bias for action which will jump start your life:

1. Reduce distractions

One of the biggest reasons that people cite for not taking action is because they are overwhelmed by the number of things going on in their lives that they have to decide on. The more you are able to reduce the number of distractions you have in your life, the more you will be able to focus on what matters to you.

Consider turning off all of your mobile phone notifications except for those you absolutely cannot live without. Get better at saying no to people who invite you to events and activities. Learn to live within your means and conserve energy for what actually matters most to you.

“Work is hard. Distractions are plentiful. And time is short.” – Adam Hochschild

2. Count down from five

If you get stuck and start overthinking anything, you are less likely to make a move and act. One of the best books I’ve ever read on taking action is called The Five Second Rule by Mel Robbins. In the book, she describes a moment in her life where everything seemed to be falling apart.

She was 41, she was drinking too much, her work / life balance was nonexistent, and her marriage was falling apart. Things were not going well, and she knew something had to change. Sitting up late one night, she was watching TV and happened to see a clip of a rocket preparing for blastoff, with the requisite “Five… four… three… two… one… blast off” sounding off in the background. With that, she decided to implement the practice of counting down from five every time she knew she needed to take action on something but couldn’t.

3. Make smaller decisions

Most self-help books talk about developing a grand master plan and some overarching vision which will guide you and drive you forward. Sure, having a unifying mission and vision can be a great way of helping you define your far-off goals, but it can also be overwhelming when you’re just trying to live your everyday life.

If you have a high level goal or vision, that’s great, but don’t forget the importance of taking action every day on smaller things. Make it a goal to do something that is beneficial to your mind (read a book, talk to a mentor), your body (go for a run or a 30 minute walk), and your soul (meditate, go to a museum, or see an old friend) each and every day. The long term goals are important, but they won’t matter unless you manage to make the right smaller decisions on a daily basis.

“No matter how many goals you have achieved, you must set your sights on a higher one.” – Jessica Savitch

4. Create a decision engine

Once you start making decisions on a regular basis, the process will become addictive. Habits are made out of loops. There is a trigger which causes an action (habit). Upon completing that action (habit), you receive a reward, which releases dopamine into the brain. This, in turn, makes you seek out opportunities to engage with that initial trigger.

In order to create a strong habit around the “bias for action”, you need to create a system which helps to formalise that habit loop. Look for what trigger might push you to take action. Maybe you’re trying to lose weight and you want to go for a run each morning. Putting your shoes by the foot of your bed might be the motivation you need to get up and run first thing in the morning.

Maybe you need to get better about completing your work assignments on time, so you set aside two hours each Monday morning of uninterrupted time to plan out your week and schedule your most important actions. Whatever systems you put in place, make sure to make them as simple as you can. The more complex your plans are for jump starting your action habit, the less likely it will be to succeed in the long run. You don’t need a grand plan, you just need to start now.

How do you make decisions quickly and efficiently on a daily basis? Let us know in the comments below!

Image courtesy of Twenty20.com

McVal is the founder of We Write For Growth, a platform for businesses to connect with talented writers and researchers and growth hackers. He is also the author of How to Make $2,000 a Month Online and Start Up your Life: Why we don’t know what we want, and how to set goals that really matter. McVal writes about motivation, decision making, and strategic thinking. He graduated from UC Santa Barbara in 2011 with a degree in Spanish, and has since worked as a market researcher and business consultant in Washington D.C., New York City and London. You can reach him on Twitter @mcval or on IG @mcvaliant. 

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Success Advice

Why You Shouldn’t Discount A Brick And Mortar Store In 2025

We’re constantly told about how stores are closing down and how shoppers prefer online options, but is it worth questioning this theory?

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How to grow a brick and mortar store
Image Credit: Midjourney

In 2024, you’d be forgiven for thinking that physical shopping is a thing of the past. We’re constantly told about how stores are closing down and how shoppers prefer online options. But is it worth questioning this theory? (more…)

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Success Advice

How to Alter Your Business Approach With Technological Advancements

Keeping up with technological trends has become a challenge for almost every business owner.

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altering business approach
Image Credit: Midjourney

Technology’s evolution has impacted everything, and business is no exception. Keeping up with technological trends has become a challenge for almost every business owner. Entrepreneurs unable to do so are being wiped out of the market.

There is no doubt that AI (Artificial Intelligence) and ML (Machine Learning) have taken over the business world. These technological advancements are impacting decision-making, success percentages, and other entrepreneurial aspects.

Adapting to these developments is integral to business success. Let’s explore how you can accomplish these milestones.

Embed the strength of AI and ML.

AI has modified business operations in major ways. For instance, companies have employed bots for customer support. These bots go through an effective learning process via Machine Learning before being able to answer like humans.  

Bots can also perform detailed data analytics and make business moves with high success percentages.

ML is used more for the analysis of data chunks and generating successful predictions. This simply means that business owners do not have to worry about large-scale financial losses. 

In terms of deployment and usage, a reputed company like Netflix employs machine learning for decision-making.

Blockchain is increasing the count of business opportunities

Tampering of financial transactions is quite common and causes severe monetary damage to customers. With the rise of digital payments, this risk has increased. 

Blockchain is used to elevate your experience for monetary transfers. It combats penetrating events to extract confidential customer information. 

Most business sectors are using block chain but finance and supply chain management sections have a higher count. These two corporate sections have several monetary deposits and withdrawals taking place. 

In terms of percentage, approximately 72% and 5% of finance and supply chain firms have implemented block chain successfully.

Dedicate Yourself to Continuous Learning and Individual Development

You invest in learning some of the very important skills, including digital marketing, financial management, and how to gain customers as an entrepreneur.

You need to set up your knowledge base about doing business on Coursera and Udemy with the basics that are necessary for the business, building further by networking with experts through webinars.

Besides, Agile methodology will introduce elasticity to your company: this review and feedback system with further correction regularly will allow for enhancing efficiency and promptly reacting to the market.

Developing key skills to achieve goals

Running a business successfully is not only about having niche/domain knowledge. Business owners need to have communication / soft skills as well in addition to niche information.

Here are some key technical/domain-related areas that business owners should have a strong grip on.

Data Storage on Cloud: These days, companies do not store their data on physical servers. Therefore business owners should know how data is stored/edited/removed/updated via AWS, Azure, Google Cloud, and other platforms.

Data Analysis/Interpretation Qualities: These days, data is as precious as gold. Business owners with data analysis abilities make correct predictions. As a result, their ventures grow in volume.

Development/Coding Knowledge

Programming knowledge gives business owners an edge whether the application is developed in-house or outsourced. It assists in getting updates deployed and handling application underperformance without getting professional support every time.

Hacking proof framework

There is no benefit of having an advanced automated system if can be penetrated. Successful business owners have above-average knowledge of cyber security and hacking attempts. They are able to choose top-notch anti-hacking software without much of an ambiguity.

Communication Abilities/Soft Skills

Here are some key communication qualities that business owners should have:

Communication/Conversation: Business owners should use to-the-point sentences in both written and oral communication.

Issue Resolution Abilities: Business owners should be able to drill down to problems and solve them. This is done successfully only if an entrepreneur has in-depth business domain knowledge.

Agile Implementations

It is mandatory for business owners to have knowledge of iterative/agile models. With such a competitive environment, it is impossible for business owners to succeed without adopting an agile framework.

Create a productive well-crafted Business Strategy

A productive business venture starts with a clear vision. The first factor making a business successful is the idea behind it. It helps with endless growth and combating competition successfully. Katherine Philips once mentioned that business goals are inevitable if goals are set concretely.

  • Goals should be based on smart achievements instead of complexity. Focus on the value that each one of them adds. 
  • Business objectives should not be vague. Key indicators should be constructed to measure the success/failure of each milestone.
  • Be realistic when setting goals. Do not aim at impossible milestones since they can be demotivating.
  • Milestones/goals need to be time-bound. Set a completion deadline for each one of them. 
  • Business goals should not be alien. Owners can think out of the box but not be obsolete / unrelated.

Create a productive well-crafted Business Strategy

Business owners cannot succeed without having a network. Some tips help in this case. Attend conferences and professional gatherings to connect with other entrepreneurs.
Here are some other related points business owners should pay attention to.

  • Attend meetings and conferences to stay updated with trends and meet business owners who already have well-set ventures. This helps in enhancing the learning curve of new / growing entrepreneurs.
  • Being a part of business communities/groups is very productive. When one shares opinions and discusses decision-making tactics, it helps in preventing errors and enhancing success rate.
  • Even the most experienced business owners have mentors as learning never stops. Take part in mentorship programs so there is an assurance that you are following the correct roadmap.

Conclusion

There is absolutely no doubt that business dimensions have evolved with technological advancements. Successful entrepreneurs have grabbed these changes in due course of time and continue to evolve. On the other hand, people following old paths and conventional steps fade out of competition. In a nutshell, keep an eye on the processes and practices you follow as these factors decide success rate.

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Success Advice

Understanding the Power of Yes and No: How to Create Boundaries For Success

These words have a significant impact on how our success unfolds

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Creating legal boundaries
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The two smallest yet most powerful words in life, “Yes” and “No,” have a big impact on our growth on both personal and professional levels. In addition to affecting the choices we make every day, these words have a significant impact on how our success unfolds. (more…)

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Motivation

From Couch Potato to Go-Getter: A Step-by-Step Motivation Plan for Everyone

By understanding what motivates you, you can turn your dreams into reality

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How to be motivated
Image Credit: Midjourney

Are you tired of feeling like a couch potato? Do you want to transform your life and become a go-getter? You’re not alone! Many people struggle with motivation, but the good news is that change is possible. (more…)

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