The 5 Habits That The Most Successful Women Share

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1:02Hi, friends. Grace from the Working Hard podcast here. When you're stretching every dollar, Allila goes a long way, and Walmart Business is here to help. They make it easy to order what you need from tech and cleaning supplies to everyday essentials, all at low prices, and with helpful tools like spend tracking and tax-exempt purchasing for eligible organizations. Because when your operations are smooth, your impact can be bigger. Visit business.warmart.com to get started.

1:34what is up i'm grace beverly and welcome back to working hard the podcast shaped guidebook on how to improve your own life and achieve what you actually dreamed of doing because life's too short for boring podcasts and bad advice what is up and welcome back to working hard i hope you're having a great week today is another one of those solo episodes where i dive into theories the research and the lessons that i wish i'd known way way earlier now i am very lucky to have had the absolute honour of interviewing so many incredible successful women on this podcast, from founders that have disrupted billion dollar industries, to heads of the world's biggest companies, and researchers who are changing the way we think about our bodies and our minds.

2:10They all bring really different perspectives and experiences, but when you sit opposite top performers week in, week out, not only are you aggressively humbled, but the habits they all share become pretty obvious, and the things that tie them all together that we can learn from become so clear to see. So earlier this week, I wanted to sit down and write all of those things out. And while I was doing that, I tried to find as many examples and studies to also back these things up. So not only can we learn from the individual people, but we can also learn from the research done behind all of these habits or traits that all of these amazing women have.

2:41So if you've ever wondered what makes the difference between women who thrive in their careers, their personal lives and their leadership, or those who burn out and stall, this is the episode for you. Before we get into it, I looked at our stats this morning, you know I love a statistic and it said that only 24 % of people who listen to this podcast every week follow us on their podcast app. To me that is a scandal because we all love habit stacking over here and hitting that button actually saves you so much time searching through the podcast bros to find us on a Monday morning plus each follower means that we can get bigger and bigger guests so I'd be so very grateful if you could follow the podcast and it will be right where you need it every Monday morning.

3:21So we're often told that success comes from talent, luck or simply working harder and better than everyone else. But in reality, the women who rise to the top are not superhuman and they certainly don't live perfect lives. I would say firstly, it is very important to acknowledge that privilege, whether that is financial, emotional or social, can play a huge, huge part in determining your path to success. These are factors that are out of your control. But over the last few years of doing this podcast, I've also noticed that there are without a doubt some key habits that you are in control of that can make a massive difference to how you live your life and where you end up, no matter your starting point.

3:58The truth is that what you do every single day matters far more than what you do once in a while because success does not come from rare flashes, but from the quiet discipline of showing up, following through, and also being able to protect your energy and your mindset when that matters. So with that in mind, let's get into the first habit that all of these women share. Number one, they protect their time like it is money. A few years ago, someone said to me, time is a non-renewable resource, and I've never heard it put so neatly. Basically, if you're careless about where your time goes, you're fritting it away on micro scrolls or meetings you don't need to be in.

4:33How do you expect to achieve those things you wanted to when you set your goals out in January? Pretty much All of the top 1 % women I've interviewed use strategies like time blocking and prioritization to make sure their days align with their long-term goals. They don't wait to find time to do a task, they actively create that time and they hold their boundaries without apology. I think this is so important because when you start to progress in your career, more and more people want your time, whether it is for reviews, press interviews or less glamorous things like quick questions and you just have to get used to not saying yes and instead protecting your time and working out how best to spend each hour of your day like it's coming straight from your bank account.

5:11Because truthfully, it is. What I would also say is that this is something that women need to work to get better at because so many of us are brought up to be people pleasers. We see it from very early on. There have been so many studies done that show that women are taught to be polite and be agreeable and upset the fewest amount of people, which a lot of the time comes with saying yes over and over again, even if you are compromising your own priorities and your own time. And don't get me wrong. I think that is a beautiful trait. Like I don't want to not please people, but I don't want to be a people pleaser at the expense of my own well-being or at the expense of my own success.

5:44The majority of the time, I at least want to be able to control certain aspects of it. So I'm not always saying yes to things just because I feel like I would upset someone else if I did. Now, on to number two. So the truth is perfectionism is often just procrastination, but it's wearing a very expensive disguise. Perfectionism often feels very productive for a lot of us. So saying something like oh I'll just tweak this deck for the sixth time but really a lot of the time you're just stalling actually having got it done, sent it off, whatever you needed to actually do with that project. I would really say that the most successful women that I've met do not sit around waiting for the planets to align before they make a decision or before they finish a task.

6:21They seek clarity not perfection and they seek getting it done rather than doing it perfect. They ask the so-called stupid questions, they make the call and then they figure it out along the way. They know that progress beats perfection every single time. And honestly, you might find this a harsh blow, but nobody ever became CEO because they color coded their Google Drive instead of doing something else. I will say the caveat to that is that staying organized and being organized and whatever you need to do to stay organized is incredibly important and will absolutely contribute to your success.

6:48I personally have a color coded Google calendar, but color coding that Google calendar does not take away from the time I need to be doing other things. And it is not something I use to procrastinate other things that actually need to move in the right direction. The same with getting projects to a point where they are 99 % or 100 % good. What I have learned so clearly in the past year, especially at the stage I'm at in my career now, is done is so much better than perfect, and 80 % good and done is so much better than 100 % good and not done, or 100 % good and the expense of your mental health or the expense of your ability to control your time because you have so much on and you're trying to do everything to 100%, meaning you're going to burn out.

7:26You only have to listen to the Emma Greed episode to hear her raving about making a decision and then making that decision right, rather than spending too much time on each and every decision. Number three, they advocate for themselves. There is a myth that says you will magically feel confident one day and you will start asking for promotions, pay rises, or more respect at work. This is completely wrong. Confidence does not come first. Advocacy does. you build confidence by asking for what you want even if your voice shakes or even if you have to ask for that meeting over teams because you can't face asking for that meeting in person you're still going to go there you're going to show up and you're going to say what you need to say the most successful women are not sitting around waiting to be discovered or waiting to be handed something that they know they deserve like they're in some kind of professional x factor they say what they need they negotiate they push back and yes they say no not because they're rude but because they know their time and energy are non-refundable.

8:17And if you struggle with making opportunities for yourself, I would highly recommend listening to episode 123 with Irene Agbontaine. I think she might be the best self-advocator I've ever met and I learned so much from that. You really just have to remember over and over again, people aren't going to go out of their way to give you what they need. They are concentrating on themselves, on their own career, on their companies, on their responsibilities. You need to be able to advocate for yourself and sometimes it's going to end up with a no, but it's definitely going to end up with a no if you never ask for in the first place.

8:45Now on to number four. This one I would say is less sexy but it is maybe the most important. Every time you follow through on a promise to yourself, whether it's showing up to the gym or sending an email or finally doing your expenses, you are proving to yourself that you can be trusted because you did what you said you would and that is the foundation of real confidence. I have said it before on here but motivation is flaky. Motivation is that friend who cancels brunch five minutes before because they are tired. Consistency on the other hand is the reliable friend who shows up rain or shine and you know you can always count on.

9:17Successful women know not to rely on motivation. They rely on the evidence that they will keep showing up for themselves because they do that time and time again and you cannot just make this happen out of nowhere. You cannot believe that you are a person that is trustworthy and have that self-confidence that comes with being a person who sticks to their word if you don't stick to your word. If you are not committing to things time and time again that you said you would and actually doing them then no wonder you don't trust yourself. No wonder you don't have the self-confidence that you want to have.

9:45You have to prove to yourself that you are a good and trustworthy person to think you are a good and trustworthy person. So even just over and over again, just saying I'm going to do something and doing something goes a very long way in building that self-confidence. And finally, number five, they prioritize recovery as much as productivity. And this is something that I have needed to learn from so much, despite the fact that I have been a poster person for saying rest is just as important as productivity. In reality, it is a lot harder, especially when you have a million things all at once and knowing that when you have a business, you are always fighting fires and there is always more that you can do.

10:20Athletes have known forever that rest is literally part of their training. You cannot sprint every day and expect to win a medal. And yet, for the rest of us, we act like we're going to get a prize for answering emails at midnight. And a spoiler alert is there is no medal for burnout and more and more of us are facing more and more burnout based on the demands of modern life and not only a 24-hour news cycle but having like an every single second news cycle from all of our friends and everything on social media. It is so much easier to get burnt out now because we are spending a lot more mental load on all sorts of things outside of work as well and being expected to and often wanting to uphold careers and often still being the primary caregivers etc etc.

10:59So we are far more susceptible to burnout and we need to act accordingly. The women at the top know that recovery isn't self-indulgent. It is a strategy. They schedule downtime the way they schedule meetings because you cannot give your best ideas, your best leadership, or your best self if you are running on fumes. Successful women treat rest like fuel, not as an afterthought. It is something that has taken me a very long time to learn. But I would say after I've heard it time and time again on this podcast, it has finally clicked for me this year. Not least because I have felt the effect of not listening to that and instead just had to build it in.

11:31Otherwise, I'm not going to be able to do this career for 10 years, let alone 40 more years. So I wanted to now talk about what you can actually do to add these habits into your daily life, because there is no point me reading them out and not making them actionable for us all and actually working out how to integrate this. So you're not trying to change your whole life all at once, but you're starting to integrate important extra habits to get you to where you want to get to. But first, let's take a quick break. Hi, I'm Madhu Bakanola from TED Business, and I'm here to talk about the Financial Times.

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12:52Plus, you can rely on Grainger for easy reordering, so you never run out of what you need. Call 1-800-GRAINGER, click grainger.com, or just stop by. Grainger, for the ones who get it done. What's up? Grace from the Working Hour Podcast here, and I want to tell you about something exciting. You're watching every dollar, and Walmart business helps you stretch each one. From office supplies to snacks and cleaning gear, you'll get everyday low prices, plus easy bulk ordering and fast delivery. And with tools like spend tracking and multi-user accounts, staying organised is simple. Save time, money and hassle at business.walmart.com.

13:27It's free to sign up. Okay, so let's get into it. How do we actually put these habits into practice? Number one, track your time. I really, really recommend auditing your calendar for a week. So where are you spending energy on things that don't serve you? Where can you block out protected time for deep work or recovery? I will put money on the fact that you don't know how much time you are spending on some things that do not serve you, that until you audit your calendar, you're going to really realise. And I would suggest that one of them might be screen time and scrolling. It definitely is for me.

13:59And I feel like it's a little bit terrifying when it's actually pointed out to you how much you are doing that when you don't necessarily want to be doing that. And that's not necessarily aligned with your long term goals. Audit your time for a week and you can start planning and prioritising with that in mind. Number two, intentionally choose progress over perfection. And I feel like that it feels cringe. Like it feels like a neon sign in someone's kitchen just being like progress over perfection. They might be onto something. I love the 80 % rule, which basically means that if something meets 80 % of your criteria, act on it.

14:31And this is very much not easy when you're used to striving for 100, but it definitely does get you where you want to go. I will say the caveat with this is you have to know what is important for your role. I am not saying deliver every piece of work to 80 % when there are very clear bullet points that your manager wants that you're compromising to get to that 100%. That's actually in the 80%. It needs to fit those criteria. There will always be non-negotiables for your role that you know you cannot cut corners on. I think a lot of the time, however, we spend time on that extra 20 % or it might be 10 % or 5 % where we're just trying to squeeze the perfection out of it when realistically done is so much better than perfect.

15:06And especially if you're super busy and you've got a lot on, you just need to be moving forwards. Number three, keep a habit tracker or some sort of goal tracker. In your planner, write down the commitments you make to yourself every day and tick them off as you follow through. They could be as small as walk for 10 minutes during lunch, but over time this builds a record of your own reliability and your own confidence. Stop negotiating with yourself. Stop setting goals and then negotiating yourself out of them. It is just wasting your own time and you are only proving to yourself over and over that you're not a trustworthy person.

15:38You are a trustworthy person. All it takes is you just starting to follow through bit by bit. Don't bite off more than you can chew. Set goals, get them done. Start small, make progress. Number four, schedule your recovery. Whether it is an early night, a walk without your phone or 10 minutes of silence between meetings, put rest in your calendar the same way you would a meeting because the truth is if you're that type of person, you won't be doing it otherwise. I also really hope you found this episode useful. As always, if you want to read more, I'll link some recommendations in the show notes and my favorite ones in the newsletter.

16:08Thank you so much for listening. And if you take one thing from this episode, let it be that success isn't about being perfect. It is about being consistent over and over again.

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