On no zero days
The aim is to get better. At a few important things. In a sustainable manner.
If you are aligned with this, then the few things to remember are
- Obviously the trite things compound.
- Persistence pays off eventually.
- Most things don’t need to be taken that seriously anyway.
So, how to build this persistence and consistency?
Just do the basics, and do it every day. Obsessively reduce the burden and the complexity of doing things that are important to you.
For example, I want to get better at my health and intellect. So, without fail, I want to do these simple things every day Having some physical activity, even a 10-minute walk, counts. Getting out the door is the hardest part. So I occasionally do it while returning from the office. Read something, even a simple blog is fine. Finding what to read is the difficult part. So, I just read whatever is on top of my reading list. Writing something, even a single paragraph, is fine. What to write about is the biggest friction. So, I just write whatever is on my mind while commuting.
None of this is profound advice. Yet, I find myself drifting now and then. And it’s when I start taking these things seriously. Like when I start aiming for arbitrary goals, I only want to do 5k runs, read high-impact books, or write long-form blogs. When I start tracking these things - KMs ran in a month, pages read in a week, etc. I start drifting from doing these things consistently. Funnily, I never drift due to the lack of time.
So now, I have started managing my expectations. The only goal is to do basic things for a long period without thinking too much about it.