1. Have 3 options as well as 3 levels for each habit/task/project
2. The lowest (Mini) level should be something you can do on practically any day, no matter how bad things are.
3. Do the level you are comfortable with on any given day
Example (For a health habit)
Mini level: 1 pushup OR 10 steps walking OR One glass of water
Second level (forgot what he called it) : 5 pushups OR 500 steps walking OR 3 glasses of water
Pro level : 20 pushups OR 2000 steps OR 8 glasses of water.
Set the numbers that seem like no-brainers to you. This tends to work extremely well in my experience and accounts for varying environmental, psychological and physiological conditions.
The book has a points system etc which I did not find useful but is otherwise a very good complement to "Atomic Habits"
That's a great model and one that I found particularly useful in weight lifting. Rather than stick to a strict linear program I would instead work up to whatever felt good for the day, then work at that level. Probably not the best strategy for young people or actual atheletes, but for an old guy who can barely prioritize excersize, choosing to adjust the effort relative to where I physically am on a given day is huge for keeping up consistancy.
That's a great system, thanks a lot. I inadvertently have a few "Mini" things that are ingrained as habits by now: Learning flash cards about math and electronics every morning. It's spaced repetition, so by now it's usually on around 3-5, which is quickly done. And, if I think about it, brushing teeth is a long standing one. Going to bed without brushing my teeth just feels all kinds of wrong.
A similar concept that works for me is to trick myself into thinking I'm only going to do a little. Once in motion, I capitalize on the sunk cost fallacy :P
Let's say if I don't want to take a walk, I'll say to myself, "let me just walk until the corner and come back". Once I get to the corner, I'll say "since I'm already here, let me keep walking until the next corner before returning home" and so on.
Reminds of this post that was HN 9 days ago: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=27833064. Both had some pretty useful tips for someone like myself who doesn't have a systematic approach for productivity.
This article really got me back on track with my side project. I haven't managed to work on it regularly for a couple of months - always seemed a bit daunting on top of work. Now I turn up every day (think I've skipped one day since reading the article) and my only goal for the day is to review my todo list and give some thought to how I might tackle one item. I always feel like I can find the energy to do this and of course once I've actually got my mind on the task I generally end up spending an hour+ on it.
Definitely. In no world is 1 better than 100. In my personal experience, though, when I tried to set myself a goal of doing "100 pushups a day", I'd end up doing none since the effort seemed insurmountable. Telling myself that I'd only do 10 would make sure I'd keep doing that in the long run.
that’s true although doing some regularly might add up to more than you’d think. i use to struggle doing more than about five or six pull-ups. then i bought a pull-up bar and hung it in my office. i would occasionally do one when i walked by, but never more than a few. then one day i just tried to do as many as i could… and i did 18. i eventually gave up the habit but did start lifting weights again many years later. yet no matter how many sets i did at the gym or go hard i pushed myself, going 3x a week, i never got above 6 or 7. not even half what i’d done before and i’d never pushed myself hard before. It’s not an absolute but it seems consistency was the trick, even above pushing myself. i’d since learned a few different skills and always been amazed at how far pretty small amounts of time can take you if you replace effort with consistency. And likewise how maximum effort and long sessions weren’t as important as i thought. consistency is really hard but knowing that it does add up, even when small, makes it much easier.
I work out 3h/d, 365d/y — As soon as I go just a few minutes shorter, it invokes a slippery slope of contemplating to do even less the next day. In some way, doing more feels easier than less once you hit a certain plateau.
If you can, make it easier to do a little. Friction is a big cause of procrastination.
My computer has a "project" command that will cd to the project's directory, start docker and build the project. This lets me jump right back in with a single command.
There's another command that fetches the production data, and gives me a local environment that's exactly like the production one. I have it in most of my projects.
This also applies to other hobbies. I keep my workshop and kitchen clean. I can get to work without cleaning up the workspace first.
This all good and fine however some of us have an abyss behind us pushing forward to doing exercise lest be rest of the day be wasted in a fog of adhd or likewise malaise. no zero days is only option for some of us.
[+] [-] bvsrinivasan|4 years ago|reply
Basic Idea --
1. Have 3 options as well as 3 levels for each habit/task/project
2. The lowest (Mini) level should be something you can do on practically any day, no matter how bad things are.
3. Do the level you are comfortable with on any given day
Example (For a health habit)
Mini level: 1 pushup OR 10 steps walking OR One glass of water
Second level (forgot what he called it) : 5 pushups OR 500 steps walking OR 3 glasses of water
Pro level : 20 pushups OR 2000 steps OR 8 glasses of water.
Set the numbers that seem like no-brainers to you. This tends to work extremely well in my experience and accounts for varying environmental, psychological and physiological conditions.
The book has a points system etc which I did not find useful but is otherwise a very good complement to "Atomic Habits"
[+] [-] blacktriangle|4 years ago|reply
[+] [-] anyfoo|4 years ago|reply
Anyway, what a great idea to introduce levels.
[+] [-] emrah|4 years ago|reply
Let's say if I don't want to take a walk, I'll say to myself, "let me just walk until the corner and come back". Once I get to the corner, I'll say "since I'm already here, let me keep walking until the next corner before returning home" and so on.
[+] [-] Bellamy|4 years ago|reply
[+] [-] kosasbest|4 years ago|reply
[+] [-] MitPitt|4 years ago|reply
[+] [-] onursurme|4 years ago|reply
[+] [-] boruto|4 years ago|reply
[+] [-] sankumsek|4 years ago|reply
[+] [-] ollysb|4 years ago|reply
[+] [-] kiba|4 years ago|reply
That said, it's a good idea to get started, no matter how little or tiny your progress is.
[+] [-] trms|4 years ago|reply
[+] [-] cloverich|4 years ago|reply
[+] [-] marban|4 years ago|reply
[+] [-] 2OEH8eoCRo0|4 years ago|reply
[+] [-] nicbou|4 years ago|reply
My computer has a "project" command that will cd to the project's directory, start docker and build the project. This lets me jump right back in with a single command.
There's another command that fetches the production data, and gives me a local environment that's exactly like the production one. I have it in most of my projects.
This also applies to other hobbies. I keep my workshop and kitchen clean. I can get to work without cleaning up the workspace first.
[+] [-] Bellamy|4 years ago|reply
https://habinator.com
[+] [-] bonniemuffin|4 years ago|reply
[+] [-] mrwizrd|4 years ago|reply
[+] [-] trms|4 years ago|reply
[+] [-] perlpimp|4 years ago|reply
[+] [-] nicbou|4 years ago|reply