Productivity and success are all about mindset and routine. Don’t believe me? Look no further than some of the greats: Oprah, Winfrey, Mark Zuckerberg, and Jeff Bezos. To us, they’re billionaires, people we look up to in hopes of one day achieving even just a tiny slice of what they have. But in all honesty, they’re not that much different than us.

What separates Winfrey, Zuckerberg, and Bezos from entrepreneurs like us is that they did something that only 0.08 percent of the world’s population has done: reached billionaire status by building something incredible. They remained persistent in their pursuit to the top. Every morning, they wake up, having their entire day mapped out for them, while most entrepreneurs wake up without a plan.

Mindset and routines are a prerequisite for success. And even then, people like Winfrey, Zuckerberg, and Bezos still follow a strict routine. I love looking up these different routines because you can catch a glimpse into the lives of these individuals. And it might be hard to believe, but most of the time, they’re incredibly normal. Bezos’ morning routine, for example, consists of “puttering” (his words) around the house, reading the newspaper, drinking coffee, and having breakfast with his kids.

My point is: what matters isn’t what you do in the morning, but that you stick to it. This is what will separate you from other people. How can you put this into practice? By using the B.U.I.L.D. system, which has helped me become a more productive and profitable business owner. I talk about this more on my YouTube channel, but let’s dive into it.

Build out your B.U.I.L.D.

The B.U.I.L.D. system is all about gamifying your routine. I know this all might sound a little corny at first, but you’ll quickly become addicted. I’ve been following B.U.I.L.D. for years now and even have some of my old journals. It’s crazy to look back and see how far I’ve grown since then. I call this version of myself the ‘old me’ because I don’t even recognize myself as a business owner or person anymore, and I couldn’t have gotten to this point without a routine.

Here’s a breakdown of what B.U.I.L.D. stands for:

• B: BODY. This is pretty self-explanatory, but it’s about taking care of your physical well-being. Whether you lift weights at the gym, go on bike rides, or hike, it’s important to nurture your body.
• U: (YO)U. Every person needs ‘you’ time. What are your passions and hobbies? Spend time doing whatever you want to do. This can be learning a new language, playing video games, or meditating — whatever makes you happy.
• I: INCOME GOAL. This part of the system is focused on your career goals and doing what it takes to increase your profitability. Influencer outreach, writing copy, and creating ads are examples of what this step could look like.
• L: LOVE/RELATIONSHIPS. Just like you need ‘you’ time, it’s also important to make time for your loved ones. Put the phone down and spend quality, uninterrupted time with your significant other, your kids, or your friends. 
• D: ‘DO’. This step is simple: ‘do’ something that is aimed at developing who you are as a person. This can be reading, taking an online class, or attending a conference. 

Productivity is all about balance.

The point of the B.U.I.L.D. system is to create balance. It should never be ‘career’ versus ‘family’ or ‘mental health’ versus ‘physical health.’ When you’re too fixated on just one aspect of your life, the other areas will suffer. Too focused on your career? You’ll ruin relationships. Too focused on ‘you’ time? You’ll never hit your career goals. Productivity is only possible when you nurture all facets of your life. When you strengthen your mind and body, you have the energy and perspective to be a better leader. And when you prioritize your professional goals, it encourages you to put that same intensity into your personal life.

Routine creates habits.

In the B.U.I.L.D. system, you set quarterly goals for yourself but track your progress every day. The reason for this is that it takes time to see growth. For example, one of my goals a few years ago was to begin meditating. As a newbie, I could barely do it for more than five minutes. That increased to thirty minutes and then to forty-five minutes; today, I not only meditate every day, but I’m up to an hour. 

You don’t want to push yourself too hard at the onset and risk burning yourself out. But you also don’t want to go so easy that you aren’t pushing yourself at all. B.U.I.L.D. should make you feel comfortable in the uncomfortable while having an established routine will instill habits that will continue to serve you for years to come.

You should never lie to yourself about your routine. You’re the only one that’s going to be looking at your journal, so if you’ve been slacking in one area and you record that you’ve made progress, it’s only going to hurt you in the long term. Always be honest with yourself and hold yourself accountable.

Reflect and change.

Part of this honesty and accountability is reflecting on your progress. I look at my journal every Sunday to measure my progress from last week. Let’s say I didn’t work out as much as I wanted to, or maybe I had to work more so I didn’t get to spend as much time with my family. I would then prioritize those areas for the upcoming week. It doesn’t matter if something ‘good’ or ‘bad’ happened to you; you should view these circumstances as data. Like in business, you should then use that data as insight into how to improve your productivity and development. When you change the input, you change the output. 

Wake up in the mornings with a game plan. When you wake up knowing what you’re going to do for the day, you can’t fail. Half of the hard work is just showing up every day, but with consistency, you’ll soon notice a tremendous difference in yourself — and so will the people around you.