Do you consider yourself a conscientious person? Conscientiousness is one of the best predictors of success in life. Conscientiousness has two components: industriousness and orderliness.

It’s hard to overemphasize the impact of being conscientious. Think of the most successful people you know and consider the degree to which they have this vital trait.

Use these strategies to enhance your conscientiousness and become more successful:

• Create a schedule each evening for the following day. It’s hard to be conscientious if you don’t even know what to do. Create a plan each evening for the next day. There are calendar apps you can use on your cell phone or the paper and pencil method. Whatever works for you is fine.
  
  
  • Make a list of the most important things you want to accomplish and make those a priority.

• Avoid over-scheduling. If you struggle to be productive, giving yourself an endless list of tasks and a rigid schedule will end in disaster. Make it very easy to experience success. You can ramp up your efforts over time.
  
  
  • Be gentle with yourself. You’ll have a few bad days where you fall back into your old habits and accomplish little. Commit to getting back on the horse.
    
    
• Keep your house tidy. Use your schedule to set aside time to deal with your home. Schedule time to mop the kitchen, clean the toilets, and pick up the family room. The natural tendency of the world is to move toward disorder. You have to combat that natural phenomenon each day.
  
  
  • Extend the same attention to your car, workspace, and yard. Get everything under control.
    
    
• Develop routines. Routines are essentially habits. They are several behaviors strung together that require minimal thought on your part. You do them. The less you think and fight with yourself, the more likely you’ll perform these actions successfully. Effective routines lead to freedom and order.
  
  
  • Have a morning and late evening routine to start. Get your day started on the right foot and end it effectively.
    
    
  • Develop routines for house cleaning and paying bills.
    
    
  • Doing a little daily can be much more effective than doing a lot at once. It’s easier to accomplish, too.
    
    
• Learn to complete tasks. Many of us are masters at starting something, only to leave it unfinished as we move on to something else. This habit creates chaos and results in a lack of progress. It takes determination and stamina to complete anything other than a bowl of potato chips. Be strong!
  
  
• Be aware of how you waste time and take steps to avoid those traps. Avoid time wasters! You already know how you waste time. Do your best to avoid engaging in those activities until you complete your work for the day.

Conscientiousness is an essential component of success. Aside from intelligence, it is the best predictor of success. Think of the most conscientious people you know and see what you can learn from them. Notice how neat and orderly their lives are. Also, notice how life seems to go quite smoothly for them.

Improve your odds of success by taking control of your time and life. Start by creating a daily schedule and add a little order to your life. You’ll be stunned by how quickly your life changes.

Until next time, stay safe, and keep the faith.