--- description: How to stay on top of your game title: 35 Business Leaders Share Their Daily Habits image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde093bcdab65f2d0/6988d9b9bc6cfc69913e2a3c/time-logo.jpg?branch=production --- * [Business](/section/business/) ## Business Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [Careers & Workplace](/tag/careers-workplace/) ## Careers & Workplace Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # 35 Business Leaders Share Their Daily Habits by [Christina DesMarais / Inc.](/author/inc/) ## Christina DesMarais / Inc. Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Sep 10, 2015 12:00 PM CUT by [Christina DesMarais / Inc.](/author/inc/) ## Christina DesMarais / Inc. Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Sep 10, 2015 12:00 PM CUT  When it comes to achieving success, actions speak louder than [words](http://www.inc.com/christina-desmarais/10-speaking-and-writing-errors-that-erode-your-credibility.html "undefined"), connections, or opportunities. Think about the importance of your daily habits, for example. Do you run five miles every morning because you value being fit and healthy? Or is it your regular routine to watch three hours of television every night because you feel the need to escape? Without a doubt, what you achieve in [life](http://www.inc.com/christina-desmarais/6-fresh-tips-on-how-to-immediately-transform-your-business-and-life.html "undefined") depends on your actions. Take it from 35 founders, entrepreneurs, and executives who have achieved great things and credit simple daily rituals for helping them do it. Here are their quotes on what helps them get more out of [business](http://www.inc.com/christina-desmarais/5-things-super-intuitive-people-know-about-succeeding-in-business.html "undefined") and [life](http://www.inc.com/christina-desmarais/7-scientifically-proven-ways-to-achieve-better-success-in-life.html "undefined"). ### 1\. Hold Back-to-Back Meetings in One Location _– Tiffany Pham, founder and CEO of_ [_MOGUL_](https://onmogul.com/ "undefined")_, an award-winning technology platform for women_ _More from Inc.com:_ * [20 Awesome Productivity Tricks Anyone Can Use](http://www.inc.com/ss/jeff-haden/20-awesome-productivity-tricks-anyone-can-use?cid=sy304time "undefined") * [14 Powerful Motivational Quotes You Have Never Heard (But Should!)](http://www.inc.com/jeff-haden/14-powerful-motivational-quotes-you-have-never-heard-but-should.html?cid=sy304time "undefined") * [Are You Emotionally Intelligent? Here’s How to Know for Sure](http://www.inc.com/travis-bradberry/are-you-emotionally-intelligent-here-s-how-to-know-for-sure.html?cid=sy304time "undefined") ### 2\. Read Voraciously _–Eric Frankel, founder and CEO of_ [_AdGreetz_](http://www.corp.adgreetz.com/ "undefined")_, a cloud-based SaaS platform that empowers brands such as Intel, NBC, and Toyota to deploy relevant, personalized video messages that build stronger customer relationships and increase engagement, activation, and revenue_ ### 3\. Constantly Triage Your To-Do List _–Vikram Aggarwal, CEO of_ [_EnergySage_](http://www.energysage.com/ "undefined")_, a solar-marketplace company that recently secured a $1.5 million Series A round of funding and announced a partnership with Green America_ ### 4\. Unsubscribe Mercilessly _–Apu Gupta, CEO of_ [_Curalate_](http://www.curalate.com/ "undefined")_, a platform for marketing with images that works with 650 brands, reaching millions of consumers a day_ ### 5\. Block Time on Your Calendar According to Tasks _–Jayna Cooke, CEO of_ [_EVENTup_](http://www.eventup.com/ "undefined")_, an online marketplace for event venues that has listed more than 15,000 venues and attracts more than one million consumers a month_ ### 6\. Connect With Your Passion _–Alex Muller, CEO of_ [_GPShopper_](http://www.gpshopper.com/ "undefined")_, a developer of mobile apps with a focus on the retail industry and annual revenue growth of 50 to 70 percent_ ### 7\. Limit the Time Spent on Email Every Day _–William Hsu, co-managing partner of Los Angeles-based venture capital_ [_Mucker Capital_](http://www.muckercapital.com/ "undefined")_, which was ranked as the No. 2 accelerator in the U.S. by Seed Accelerators Ranking, a joint study by MIT and Rice University_ ### 8\. Spend One Hour Outside Every Day _–Alex Matjanec, CEO of_ [_MyBankTracker_](http://www.mybanktracker.com/ "undefined")_, a Brooklyn-based personal finance and banking hub, which helps more than 1.5 million visitors a month make smarter banking decisions_ ### 9\. Use Technology for Personal Relationship Management (PRM) _–Kris Snyder, CEO of Vox Mobile, a Cleveland-based enterprise mobility solution provider with annual growth that trends above 30 percent, a recent funding round closing at $6.7 million, and consistent inclusion in Gartner’s MMS Magic Quadrant. Snyder is also the founder of the Global Enterprise Mobility Alliance (_[_GEMA_](http://thegema.com/ "undefined")_)._ ### 10\. Prioritize Key Employee Objectives _–James Roche, CEO of_ [_Houseplans.com_](http://www.houseplans.com/ "undefined")_, a San Francisco-based stock home design site that has grown 25 percent year over year_ ### 11\. Focus on 2 to 3 Things a Day _–Tim Eisenhauer, president of San Diego software provider_ [_Axero Solutions_](http://axerosolutions.com/ "undefined")_, a profitable bootstrapped company with hundreds of customers playing in the crowded enterprise software market with huge venture-backed competitors_ ### 12\. Have a Family Dinner _–Scott and Missy Tannen, founders of_ [_Boll & Branch_](https://www.bollandbranch.com/ "undefined")_, a New York-based company with a line of accessibly priced luxury bed linens that launched in January 2014 with first-year revenue topping $2 million and more than a $10 million run rate in its second year in business_ ### 13\. Get Home on Time _–Jeff Braverman, CEO of snack and candy store_ [_Nuts.com_](https://nuts.com/ "undefined")_, which has grown revenue to $35 million, up from $1.5 million in 2002_ ### 14\. Exercise Every Day _–Julie Smolyansky, CEO of_ [_Lifeway Foods_](http://lifewaykefir.com/ "undefined")_, which has grown gross sales to $130.2 million_ ### 15\. Read 20 to 30 Unsolved Customer Support Tickets Every Morning _–Suhail Doshi, CEO of_ [_Mixpanel_](https://mixpanel.com/ "undefined")_, an analytics platform for mobile and web that helps companies gain insights into user activity and leverage this data to build better products. Mixpanel now tracks 50 billion actions people take in applications per month_ ### 16\. Check KPIs First Thing in the Morning _–Michael Ortner, CEO of_ [_Capterra_](http://www.capterra.com/ "undefined")_, a web service that has helped companies such as Coca-Cola, Walmart, and Home Depot find and purchase business software_ ### 17\. Be Unpredictable _–Serban Enache, CEO of global stock photo site_ [_Dreamstime.com_](http://www.dreamstime.com/ "undefined")_, which has been used by more than 11 million users since its launch in 2000_ ### 18\. Always Ask Why _–Jay Simons, president of software company_ [_Atlassian_](https://www.atlassian.com/ "undefined") _which offers team collaboration products including JIRA, Confluence, Bitbucket, and HipChat, which are collectively used by more than 48,000 companies worldwide_ ### 19\. Allow Enough Unscheduled Time During the Day to Think, React or Write _–Dr. Walter S. Scott, founder, executive vice president, and CTO of satellite imagery company_ [_DigitalGlobe_](http://www.digitalglobe.com/ "undefined")_, which provides images and geospatial content to U.S. government defense and intelligence agencies, international governments, and major online mapping platforms such as Google_ ### 20\. Exude Positivity _–Kris Duggan, CEO of_ [_BetterWorks_](http://www.betterworks.com/ "undefined")_, an employee-related goals platform that recently closed a $15.5 million Series A round and is more than doubling active users every quarter_ ### 21\. Prioritize a Daily To-Do List _–Sean Duffy, CEO of_ [_Omada Health_](https://omadahealth.com/ "undefined")_, a digital-therapeutics company that was selected by Fast Company as one of “The World’s 50 Most Innovative Companies”_ ### 22\. Talk to People _–Jonathan Cogley, CEO and founder of IT security company_ [_Thycotic_](http://thycotic.com/ "undefined")_, which ranks 2,671 on the Inc. 5000 list of fastest growing companies in 2014, up 760 spots from 2013_ ### 23\. Prepare Budgets by Initiatives and Expected Outcomes Rather Than by Functions _–Mike Zivin, co-founder and CEO of_ [_Whittl_](http://www.whittl.com/ "undefined")_, an online appointment booking platform for neighborhood businesses, which recently raised a $3.3 million Series A round with backing from GrubHub co-founder Mike Evans, as well as GrubHub’s first VC, Origin Ventures in Chicago_ ### 24\. Get Coached _–Douglas Merrill, former CIO of Google and now CEO of_ [_ZestFinance_](http://www.zestfinance.com/index.html "undefined")_, a big-data startup that uses more than 100,000 data points about an individual to figure out if he or she will pay back a loan_ ### 25\. Keep a Close Eye on the Competition _–Darin LeGrange, CEO of_ [_Aldera_](http://www.aldera.com/ "undefined")_, a company that provides health plan insurers with the back-office technology to handle billing, claims processing, coverages, and more_ ### 26\. Get Moving _–David Kalt, founder and CEO of_ [_Reverb_](https://reverb.com/ "undefined")_, a marketplace for musical instruments and gear that has raised about $5 million in funding and expects to do $130 million in transactions this year, up from $40 million last year_ ### 27\. Read the News About Your Industry First Thing in the Morning _–Ahmed Albaiti, founder and CEO of_ [_Medullan_](http://www.medullan.com/ "undefined")_, a digital health innovation company that works with payers, providers, and pharma on patient engagement_ ### 28\. Adjust Your Perspective _–Neha Sampat, CEO of digital tech solutions provider_ [_Built.io_](https://www.built.io/ "undefined")_, which powers innovation at the intersection of enterprise mobility and the internet of things (IoT) for startups and industry-leading companies. Sampat also co-founded KurbKarma, was named a “San Francisco Business Times 40 under 40″ honoree, as well as one of “50 Women in Tech Dominating Silicon Valley” in 2015_ ### 29\. Get to Inbox Zero _–Rick Morrison, CEO of_ [_Comprehend Systems_](http://comprehend.com/ "undefined")_, which works with big names in the life-sciences industry, such as Boston Scientific, Astellas, and AstraZeneca, modernizing and improving the quality in their clinical process through cloud-based tech_ ### 30\. Make a daily ‘top three’ to-do list _–Ratmir Timashev, CEO of_ [_Veeam_](http://www.veeam.com/homepage.html "undefined")_, a data center backup company founded in 2006 that now employs more than 1,500 employees around the world and brings in hundreds of millions of dollars in revenue, with its sights on reaching $1 billion in revenue in the next five years_ ### 31\. Get Up to Speed With Direct Reports First Thing _–Michael MacDonald, CEO of nutrition and weight-loss company_ [_Medifast_](http://www.medifast1.com/index.jsp "undefined") ### 32\. Plan Your Work and Work Your Plan _–Jason van den Brand, co-founder and CEO of online mortgage refinancing startup_ [_Lenda_](http://t.signauxun.com/link?url=http://www.lenda.com/&ukey=agxzfnNpZ25hbHNjcnhyGAsSC1VzZXJQcm9maWxlGICAwICGt9oIDA&k=5df2ffcd209044f3abdc22f4f4633e25 "undefined")_, which graduated from Silicon Valley-based 500 Startups last year. Since then, the company has raised its first round of funding, grown 40 percent month over month, and passed the $40 million mark in loans financed through the platform_ ### 33\. Keep a Short To-Do List _–Ethan Austin, founder of the online fundraising website_ [_Give Forward_](http://www.giveforward.com/ "undefined")_, which has raised more than $150 million and hosts 20,000 active fundraisers at any given time_ ### 34\. Take time to reflect _–John Yung, CEO of cloud application management platform_[_Appcara_](http://www.appcara.com/ "undefined") _which is used by customers including Sysorex, AIS, HP Cloud Services, and Intermedia_ ### 35\. Be Consistent and Proactive I was an avid bodybuilder back in my college days, and to succeed you had to be religiously consistent day after day with diet, nutrition, and training. I applied the same in business. It takes time to create great products and a stable business, so I’ve learned that to succeed you have to remain consistent, especially when you truly believe in something. It’s a two-edged sword that if not managed can also have negative ramifications, so I also try to be proactive to know when to change angles when the need arises. _– Payman Taei, CEO and founder of_ [_Visme_](http://www.visme.co/ "undefined")_, a DIY online tool that has empowered over 200,000 businesses and nonprofits to create better presentations and infographics. Taei is also the founder of_ [_HindSite Interactive_](http://www.hindsiteinc.com/ "undefined")_, an award-winning web agency that helps companies improve their online presence with effective websites_ _This post is in partnership with Inc., which offers useful advice, resources and insights to entrepreneurs and business owners. The_ [_article_](http://www.inc.com/christina-desmarais/the-daily-habits-of-35-people-at-the-top-of-their-game.html?cid=sy304time "undefined") _above was originally published at_[_Inc.com_](http://www.inc.com/ "undefined") ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4027015/business-success-habits/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4027015/business-success-habits/"},"headline":"35 Business Leaders Share Their Daily Habits","datePublished":"2015-09-10T12:00:15.000Z","dateModified":"2026-05-11T05:01:44.425Z","description":"How to stay on top of your game","url":"https://time.com/4027015/business-success-habits/","keywords":["Careers & Workplace","productivity","career","Success topic"],"thumbnailUrl":"","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Christina DesMarais / Inc."}],"articleSection":"Business","image":[],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/business/","name":"Business"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/careers-workplace/","name":"Careers & Workplace"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4027015/business-success-habits/","name":"35 Business Leaders Share Their Daily Habits"}}]}] ```