13 Hacks to Be 99% More Disciplined as a Freight Broker That Cost Nothing

I'm going to share the 13 hacks that can make any freight broker 99% more disciplined that cost nothing. These are the strategies that I use to go from a distracted, jobless 30-year-old with ADHD to consistently crushing every hard task without fail and building my 7-figure brokerage. You can start using these hacks today even if you lack motivation, so without further explaining it, these are the 13 hacks to unlock more discipline.

1. Don't Depend on Your Morning Alarm

Not literally—just hear me out. How many times have you hit the snooze button this week or spent 30 minutes to an hour scrolling on your phone before finally shlumping out of bed? Depending on your alarm (especially snoozing) trains you to procrastinate from the very first moment of your day. If your first daily decision is delaying getting up, you're already losing momentum.

Instead, aim to wake up consistently without using your alarm as a crutch. That means going to bed early enough so you wake up naturally or at least with only one alarm—and absolutely no snoozing. Flip your routine by setting a "bedtime alarm" that reminds you to go to sleep on time. Keep your morning alarm as a safety net, but aim not to rely on it. Waking up on your own builds confidence and discipline—it proves you're in control, not your alarm clock.

2. Win the Morning with a Routine

You've heard the saying "win the morning, win the day." It's cliche, but it's true – a solid morning routine creates the momentum you need for the daily consistency we’re looking for as now or future freight brokerage business owners. 

It doesn’t have to be complicated—just something that gives you a sense of control before diving into work. For me, that means putting away the dishes from the dishwasher, making my bed and throwing in a load of laundry first thing in the morning. That way, if my email inbox is a disaster and it takes an hour just to figure out a solution for my first urgent email, I know in the back of my mind I’ve already accomplished something before I even sit down at my desk.

I also start my morning by putting 32 oz of water in a blender with ice and make the coldest slushie imaginable because hydrating immediately wakes you up 10x more than straight up coffee (though I still have an espresso shot... I’m not a psychopath). I do those all that stuff, walk my dog, and then log into my computer. This routine helped me go from rolling straight from bed straight into chaos putting me in a shitty mood right away, to laser-focused, immediate problem solving mode and not immediately turned off by the day if the first thing I have to handle for my brokerage is a hot load that was missed.

When you win your morning before work even starts, you build momentum that carries through the rest of the day.

A morning routine doesn't have to be long or complicated; what’s important is consistency. By doing the same positive actions each morning, you're telling your brain it's go-time. If you’re a carrier thinking about the brokerage side, It's like warming up the engine of a truck during the winter before a long haul.

A common myth is that you need motivation to start your day strong. Not true – you need routine. Discipline is built on habits, not fleeting motivation. Once you consistently follow a morning routine, you're training your discipline muscle daily. After checking those morning boxes, you're already feeling accomplished by 8 AM. That’s the momentum that propels you into a productive day.

3. Prioritize and "Eat the Frog" First

Every freight broker has at least one "frog" each day – that one big, ugly task you really don't want to do, but absolutely need to do. It could be calling a difficult client and delivering bad news, negotiating a tough rate, or sorting out some strategic emails you've been avoiding. 

Why? Because if you get the hardest task out of the way early, everything else feels easier by comparison. Mark Twain (the great american novel guy) said if you have to eat a live frog, do it first thing in the morning so nothing worse can happen the rest of the day. When I forced myself to tackle my hardest task (like a nerve-wracking 7:00 AM client call for an east coast customer) first thing, my productivity skyrocketed. I dreaded it the night before, but once it was done I felt lighter and more confident, and everything after was easier. Anxiety is a direct correlation to inaction, so instead of letting this big task live rent free in your mind, just get it over with and let your garmin stress numbers take a break. 

4. Work in Sprints (Pomodoro Technique)

Discipline doesn't mean grinding non-stop for 12 hours straight. Your brain needs breaks to sustain high performance. This is where working in sprints comes in – specifically, the Pomodoro Technique. It's a fancy name, but really it's simple: you work in focused bursts (usually 25 minutes long), then take a short break (5 minutes), and repeat.

Why does this help? Because knowing you only have to concentrate for a short sprint makes it easier to start and keeps you on task. This method is especially great if you tend to get distracted easily (hello fellow ADHD folks!). By giving yourself permission to pause, it's easier to ignore distractions now. Another thing I personally tried for a couple weeks until I got the hang of it on my own, was setting a timer right in front of me for 25 min, which forced me to get up, and do something PRODUCTIVE that’s the important part, laundry, dishes, make your bed, vacuum, organize something, this reinforces the fact that you’ve accomplished SOMETHING if work stuff hasn’t given you that feeling.

5. Turn Off All Notifications

Maybe you get an email, a text, an instagram or tiktok alert. your phone (and computer) are distraction machines if you let them be. To be highly disciplined, you need to guard your focus. One of the easiest free hacks for that is turning off all non-essential notifications.

Every time you get interrupted by a ping, studies show that after a distraction it can take 23 minutes average to fully get back on task even though you think that’s BS. Think about it, yes, you’re getting back to work again, you’re doing things when you come back from doomscrolling on your phone, but you lost your perfect string of thoughts that took the last half hour to get to, and the reason a lot of people think it’s BS is because they can’t remember…what they forgot. 

The solution? Go on a notification purge. Turn off notifications on your phone for everything besides calls on your phone, instagram, tiktok, reddit, news, your grandma… alright keep that one on just in case..any app that isn't truly critical. What I do is use the app Screenzen (not sponsored, I wish), and lock out every app that I know is a distraction, between 08:00 and 17:00pm. It’s so hard at the start, it’s so hard. But you get used to it and realize how much more focused you are. 

6. Start with the Big Domino

When your day is filled with dozens of tasks, it’s easy to get lost in the weeds. Start your day with the “Big Domino.” This means identifying the one task that will have the most significant impact on your day or business – the task that, if completed, will make many other tasks easier or even irrelevant (like a line of dominoes falling).

Every morning, ask yourself: "If I could only get one thing done today, which task would make the biggest impact or make other tasks easier?" This is different from the "frog"—the Big Domino isn't necessarily the ugliest task; it's the most impactful. It could even be something you enjoy or a high-leverage opportunity you've neglected.

For example, I realized spending my first hour reaching out to a potential high-volume client (my Big Domino) gave a far greater payoff than using that hour on ten small admin tasks. Those little tasks still needed doing, but after I knocked out the big one, some of those smaller to-dos either became easier or irrelevant.

How to execute this hack:

• Identify it: Determine the one high-impact task for the day and label it your "Big Domino."

• Do it first: Tackle it when you have the most energy (usually in the morning) and guard that time from distractions.

• Observe the effect: Notice how once it's done, many other tasks either fall into place or aren't as urgent anymore.

By doing this every day, you'll make real progress instead of just shuffling papers and putting out small fires. It's an amazing feeling to knock out the one thing that matters most— it builds confidence and discipline, because you see big results and want to repeat it.

Line up your dominoes and tip the big one first. The rest of the day will almost take care of itself.

7. Stack Your Habits

One of the best ways to build discipline isn't by willpower, but by designing your habits smartly. Habit stacking means linking a new habit to an existing one, so the old habit triggers the new one. It's like coupling the tractor with the trailer—the first habit pulls the second one along.

We all have everyday habits, whether we realize it or not. For example, I wanted to review freight market trends daily. I already had a morning coffee habit lol. So I stacked them: every morning as I make my coffee, that triggers me to spend 5-10 minutes checking market updates. Coffee brewing = time to review. Because I have coffee every day, the new habit is now anchored to it.

To use habit stacking yourself:

• Pick a habit you already do without fail each day (like after brushing your teeth, after lunch, when you start your car, etc.).

• Decide on a small new habit that would boost your day (review your to-do list, do 5 pushups, reach out to a shipper you haven’t called in a while just to catch up, etc.).

• Every time you do your existing habit, do the new one right after. If you forget, do it as soon as you remember and reinforce the link next time.

Before long, you'll have a chain of behaviors that run on autopilot, so you need less and less conscious effort to do them. Early on you might need a reminder, but soon it becomes second nature.

8. Learn to Say "No"

It might sound negative, but saying "no" is actually about protecting your time and focus, which is crucial for discipline. As a freight broker, you'll get countless demands on your time — meeting requests, favors, "opportunities" that aren't really opportunities, social invites... you name it. Learning to say "No" to things that don't align with your goals is a superpower.

Every time you say "yes" to something, you're essentially saying "no" to something else that might be more important. If you agree to everything, you'll have no time or energy left for the things that truly matter.

I learned this the hard way. Early on, I tried to please everyone – I'd take calls at all hours, say yes to random coffee meetings, even help friends move furniture in the middle of a workday. I was like im my own boss now I can do whatever. Then the money wouldn’t roll in and I’d look back and be like alright, maybe golfing in the middle of a monday didn’t really help did it. I said yes to avoid disappointing others, but I ended up disappointing myself and hurting my business. My schedule was a mess, I worked late to catch up, and I felt constantly stretched thin.

Then I began saying "no" (or at least "not now") to things that weren't urgent or important. Friend wants to catch up and chat during prime work hours? No, let's talk after 5. A client asks for an off-scope favor that would completely derail my day? No, I can't today. An invite to binge a show when I planned to prep for tomorrow? (Nope, passed on that too.) It felt uncomfortable at first, but guess what – the world didn't end, my friends didn’t go away, my clients were still there. People adjusted and respected my time more.

Always consider the trade-off: if you say yes to this, what are you saying no to? If accepting a request means sacrificing your sleep, family time, or progress on a main project, then it's probably a "no."

Everyone has a limited amount of time and energy each day. Protect yours fiercely. Don't be a people-pleasing yes-machine. Be strategic with your yes, and generous with your no. It's one of the most liberating discipline hacks out there.

9. Clean Out Your Pantry

Your discipline at work is heavily influenced by your physical well-being and environment. "Clean out your pantry" can be taken literally (removing junk food) and metaphorically (removing any temptations in your environment) so you don't rely on willpower so much.

On a literal level, what you eat during the day matters. If your pantry or desk drawer is full of candy, soda, or junk, you'll grab that in stressful moments and then crash later. If you’re a carrier right now, you know hwo hard it is to get access to healthy food, so you depend on gas station or truck stop food which you probably know by know shuts you down. I learned this myself: there was a candy drawer in my old office and I would muuuuuunch during early morning calls. Sure enough, sugar rush, crash—leaving me even more tired and unfocused.

Discipline isn't just mental; it's physical too. So get rid of the junk and stock up on healthier snacks (nuts, fruit, etc.). If the bad options aren't there, you can't choose them. Again, not sponsored, but every time I go to the grocery store I use an app called Bobby approved, so when I scan a label, it’ll show me if there’s bad ingredients in there or not. Your environment will almost always beat your willpower in the long run, so set up your environment for success.

Now for the metaphorical "pantry" which is any part of your environment that tempts you away from disciplined behavior. Is your desk cluttered with distractions (old paperwork, empty soda cans, look i have a wrench on mine….idk)? Spend 5 minutes to tidy it up and keep it clean — a clear space equals a clearer mind, you can take it to the next level and do your whole house too just sayin…might need it. 

Also, Is your DIGITAL environment full of tempting time-wasters (social media, distracting bookmarks you might glance at at the top of your browser that could possibly distract you, YouTube (well, I’ll approve watching my channel just sayin)? Basically, remove easy access to anything that tends to derail you. If you see something that could distract you, you’ll be gravitated towards it, so why have it in your vision. 

10. Delete Useless Decisions

Do you ever feel mentally exhausted by midday just from deciding what to wear, what to eat, when to do tasks? That's decision fatigue – our brains have a limited capacity for decisions each day. The more trivial choices you make, the less mental energy you have for the important stuff.

The solution: delete useless decisions from your daily life. In practice, this means automating, eliminating, or pre-deciding the small stuff so you don't waste brainpower on it. Many famously disciplined people do this: Steve Jobs wore the same outfit daily; Mark Zuckerberg sticks to gray t-shirts (the key is he has a bunch of gray shirts not just one, that’s gross get a bulk pack alright). They removed the "what to wear" decision entirely because they know the value of their decision-making energy.

You can do the same on a smaller scale:

• Streamline your wardrobe: Simplify your clothing choices. Since you’re at home choose a basic "work uniform" or decide your outfit the night before, so you don't waste time each morning figuring it out.

• Plan your meals: Have a go-to breakfast and lunch. For example, eat the same healthy breakfast every day or prep your meals for the week, so you're not making decisions when you're hungry and busy.

• Set a default schedule: Structure your day so you already know what to do when. For example, if 9-11 AM is always prospecting calls and 11 AM-noon is paperwork, there's no decision to make — you just follow the routine (adjusting only when real emergencies come up).

By cutting out these little choices, you preserve willpower and clarity for what really matters (and for the unpredictable issues that will inevitably come up). When I started doing this, I was shocked how much more mental energy I had by the afternoon. I used to burn out by 3 PM because my brain was fried from all the tiny decisions. Now a lot is on autopilot — I know what I'm wearing, eating, and doing at set times. It might sound boring, but it frees up room for creativity which you need as a freight brokerage owner and focused work because my mind isn't bogged down in minutiae. Mi·noo·shee·uh. If you’re shutting down at noon a lot btw, you’re more likely than not dehydrated, another good time to chug another glass of water. 

Also, reducing decision overload lowers stress. You feel more in control and less chaotic. It's like cleaning up mental clutter — just as you cleared your physical pantry, now you're clearing your decision "pantry."

11. Find Disciplined Friends

You've probably heard the saying that you're the average of the five people you spend the most time with. When it comes to discipline, it's absolutely true. If you surround yourself with disciplined, goal-oriented people, their habits and mindset will rub off on you. Conversely, if your circle is full of procrastinators or unmotivated folks, you'll slide into those patterns too no matter how hard you try. Maybe you’ll go through a couple weeks of motivation trying to work against their influence, but you’ll always come back to square one if you don’t actually start making friends that’ll support you. 

So consciously build a circle of friends who will hold you accountable and inspire you. For me, a turning point was befriending over 200 members now in our freight broker and agent startup discord group. Everyone there is serious about growing their brokerages or agencies and wants to be as disciplined as possible with their schedule. We started holding each other accountable with quick check-ins: "What are your big goals this week? How'd you do last week?" Nothing formal, but knowing I'd have to tell someone my progress made me step up my game. I didn't want to be the guy with excuses.

The result? We’re all leveling up together. Several of our members are starting their own freight brokerages from scratch or working at a current freight brokerage looking to improve their sales and WERE struggling to book a single load a day, to running huge books of business, but tons of them have started landing clients. Everyone seeing each others success creates a positive competition and support system. Discipline really is contagious.

Maybe you don't have a friend or a group like this in your life yet. That's okay, seek one out. Spend time with people who talk about ideas, goals, and self-improvement, and you'll naturally start adopting those behaviors.

I currently have a two month bet with two of my friends, where we have to work out 5 times per week, it can be anything active for 30 min or longer than a 2 mile run, and if any of us miss a day during one of those weeks we owe $250 to the group, and if we all perfectly complete the challenge after the end of the two months, we get to award ourselves to a trip to vegas, none of us want to be the guy that messes that up so yes, we’re one month in with a perfect streak so far. 

Disciplined friends also understand when you say "I need to work on this" won't push you to slack off or go to the bar and get a few beers instead which also by the way effects the next day. In fact, they'll encourage you to stay on track, because they value discipline too.

Be willing to be the initiator. If you have friends who could be more disciplined, suggest a challenge or weekly check-in. You might be surprised that they'll welcome it. Learn from your disciplined friends. Watch how they structure their day or handle setbacks. You can pick up great techniques just by observing or asking questions. And sometimes, you might need to distance yourself a bit from people who consistently drag you down or mock your efforts. You don't necessarily have to cut them off, but be mindful of how much influence they have on you.

12. Write Down Your Goals and Keep Them Visible

Writing down your goals and keeping them visible is a powerful habit used by top athletes, entrepreneurs, and successful freight brokers. It's simple but effective, writing goals down makes them tangible and consistently reminds you what you're working toward.

Put your goals where you'll see them daily, a sticky note on your monitor, a vision board with images of your ideal future which sounds super weird but it’s gaining popularity really fast because they’re proven to work, or a clear reminder on your phone background. Regularly seeing your goals reinforces your focus and strengthens your discipline.

For example, if your goal is building a brokerage that hits a certain revenue or client milestone, explicitly write it down. Include images on your vision board representing your success—contracts being signed, your target bank account balance, or visuals of financial freedom for your family.

Why does this work? Visible goals are harder to ignore or forget, especially when motivation dips. They quickly reconnect you to your purpose and remind you exactly why you're pushing through tough daily tasks.

When I built my brokerage, seeing my written goals and vision board every morning provided clear meaning and urgency. It wasn't idle dreaming, it gave purpose to my daily actions.

Remember—clear, visible goals only help when paired with consistent action.

13. The 5-Second Rule to Get Started

Sometimes the hardest part of a task is simply starting. You might know exactly what you need to do (call that client, draft that proposal, clean up that database), but you just can't seem to begin. This is where the 5-Second Rule comes in, a hack made famous by Mel Robbins (New York Times best-selling author. 21 million followers online, considered the most sought after expert in life improvement, mindset, and behavior change no big deal). It's incredibly simple, and it works to kickstart your action in any given moment.

When you have the instinct to do something productive, count down "5-4-3-2-1" and then move before your brain can come up with an excuse. It basically interrupts your hesitation. If you wait too long, your brain will start overthinking and come up with excuses to avoid whatever it is. Counting down from five interrupts that pattern. It gives you a tiny window to act before your brain convinces you to procrastinate.

I've used this so many times. For example, I'm sitting there knowing I need to make a follow-up call to a prospect, but I'm feeling resistance because that client…sucks. The thought comes "I should call them, but i have my dog i could pet her instead," then immediately I think "5-4-3-2-1, go." On "go," I pick up the phone and start dialing before any other thought can stop me. By the time it rings, I'm committed and petting my dog while I’m on the phone. It takes just five seconds of courage, and then I'm in motion.

You can use this for anything: getting out of bed (5-4-3-2-1 and up!), starting your workout, opening that blank spreadsheet you've been avoiding. It might sound too easy, but that's the beauty of it. It's like launching a rocket—countdown, then ignition. Once you're moving, momentum carries you forward.

Use this rule whenever you’re starting to feel tired in the middle of the day or some kind of resistance—especially on those "frog" tasks. If you catch yourself wanting to procrastinate, just start counting down and then move. I've trained myself that when I start counting, it means "we're doing this now."

The more you use it, the more it becomes a habit to act quickly. Over time, you might not even need the countdown because you'll naturally become an action-taker. You can also use it to break mental inertia. If you catch yourself drifting off during work, "5-4-3-2-1 brotha…” and snap back to focus. Do this repeatedly and it trains you to become an action-taker by default.

Bonus Hack: Embrace "No Zero Days"

I know we said 13 hacks, but I have to include this bonus one because it's too good to leave out. Embrace "No Zero Days." The idea is simple: do something every single day that moves you forward, even if it's tiny, so you never have a day with zero progress.

In practice, it means no day goes by without at least a little work on your goals or habits. Feeling sick or exhausted? Do a tiny task anyway (send one email, read one page of a business book). Swamped with family stuff? Take 5 minutes before bed to jot down tomorrow's plan. The key is: do something so you don't break the chain.

This hack is all about consistency, the backbone of discipline. Big bursts of effort are great, but consistency is what truly compounds over time. For example, if you're trying to grow your brokerage, making even one cold call on your worst day is infinitely better than making none. One keeps the momentum alive; zero lets inertia set in.

I adopted the No Zero Days philosophy after reading about it, and it changed my outlook. On days I used to say, "Eh, I'll skip today and catch up tomorrow," I now push myself to do at least a super small amount. Often that small action boosts my mood and I end up doing more. But even if I don't, I go to bed knowing I didn't totally slack off — I honored my goals in some way.

Define what counts as progress for you. It could be as simple as:

• making one phone call to a client even if you’re feeling like shit;

• writing 5 emails,

• reviewing one market rate update;

• doing 10 pushups (if fitness is a goal);

• even just tidying a small corner of your desk.

The magic of No Zero Days is that it destroys the all-or-nothing mentality. You no longer wait for a "perfect" day to make progress — you make progress every day. Psychologically, it keeps you engaged because you never have to feel guilty about doing nothing.

Now, a quick caveat: No Zero Days doesn't mean never resting or working yourself to death. It just means intentional consistency. If it's a rest day, do something small and restorative (read a few pages, stretch, etc.). If you're on vacation, maybe spend 5 minutes visualizing your goals or jotting down ideas. Just do something, however small.

String together weeks and months of No Zero Days and you'll be amazed at the results. It's how I steadily built my 7 figure brokerage: not overnight leaps, but daily little steps that added up to huge progress.