RSS Feed
Building Good Habits
August 13th, 2026
by Bill Boyajian

I’m a big proponent of doing a few easy things in the morning to build momentum for the day. Doing some early morning reading, clearing my emails, and reviewing my calendar help to get me going.

But have you ever thought about the kinds of things we can do to kick start our day the night before, like setting up the coffee maker and timer to be brewed when we wake up in the morning or writing out our “do list” the evening before so we are ready to attack the morning.

There are other things we can do to make our day brighter if we can develop some simple habits that reward ourselves in small ways. For example, do you clear your desk each night before leaving the office so when you walk in the next day, things are clean and ready for a fresh start? Can you get the crock pot going in the morning so your dinner is ready when you get home from work or school? Do you make up your bed each morning so when you get home your bedroom looks inviting?

Developing habits of doing the hard thing first will reward you later. It can be as simple as backing into the garage or carport so when you next leave, you are facing out. If you’re really smart, you can pull through a parking space at the grocery store so you’re pointing out without ever backing up. Or it can be more difficult, like improving your diet, getting some much-needed exercise, or committing to more sleep.

Even more rewarding would be putting money away in your youth so the years of life ahead of you will foster compounding interest. Maxing out a 401(k) contribution – admittedly sacrificing today for a better tomorrow – will lead to a happier retirement. The millionaire next door – however modest – probably did a lot of these things.

“I needed help orchestrating a succession plan for our business. I had heard that Bill Boyajian specialized in assisting owners to transition their business to the next generation. He knows how to bridge the generation gap and deliver what each needs to hear. I would recommend Bill to any business owner who needs advice on succession planning from a trusted outside professional.”

–Charles Denaburg,
Managing Partner,
Levy’s Fine Jewelry
Birmingham, AL

"Our family needed some guidance on business transition and succession planning. We asked Bill Boyajian to help us because we knew we could trust him to tell us what we needed to hear. Bill became a valuable resource for our company and our entire family. He has the ability to meet each of us where we’re at and it has served us very well."

–Ceylon Leitzel
Leitzel Fine Jewelry
Hershey & Myerstown, PA

“We needed a plan to transition our business to a non-family member and we asked Bill Boyajian to help us. His experience in the area has really paid off, but we didn’t expect the added value of putting us together with a financial planner who helped organize our retirement needs. We now have the fundamentals to transition our business successfully, and we have Bill to thank for it.”

–Ernie & Debbie Cummings
Kizer-Cummings Jewelers
Lawrence, KS