“It’s better to do less than you hoped than nothing at all. No zero days.” – James Clear
I was talking with my son. We talked about how to best spend his time. Because of online school, he finds himself with a lot of time in the day.
What I wanted him to think about was what it means to get better. I asked him, “what do you want to get better at?” “Basketball,” He said.
“Okay, how do you get better at basketball” I asked. After a long pause I offered an answer, “You hold a basketball. And what you do with that basketball is up to you. But you need to hold it, everyday.” I said
We ended our talk with an agreement. I will hold a basketball everyday, for at least five minutes.
The 5 minute trick
Reducing it down to five minuets is a mind trick. It’s hard to tell yourself you don’t have five minutes in your day. But even with this five minute trick, I have failed. And I think I know why. Let me explain.
When a plane takes off into the sky, it uses around 20% of its fuel. To me, this is analogous to starting a task. Most of the mental and physical fuel is used here. But once you get to cruising altitude, it gets easier. Here is an example.
I want to develop a daily writing habit. But there are days when it’s the last thing I want to do. So, I will write, “I don’t feel like writing today. I feel tired and lazy. Just the thought of me sitting down to type makes my mind ache.” This is my plane taking off. I need to get to off the ground and into the clouds. And then a funny thing happens. I start writing.
Five minutes is better than nothing
Do get better. Do something every day. The smallest effort, over time, yields the greatest result.
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