Seven days ago, I committed to making a 1% improvement each day.
It's going amazing. I can't recommend it enough.
I've got at least 20 in mind that will take work to do, but the wonderful thing about these kind of gains is their persistence. Getting a handle on something once -- and getting gains permanently -- is remarkably awesome.
I mean, remarkably awesome.
I took measures to get back into the gym, design and improve my training regime, improve my sleep through some smart purchases (eyemask, earplugs, hat, comfort foam on the bed), regulated my caffeine consumption (quit coffee/tea/liquid caffeine, take caffeine pills from the pharmacy on schedule and track it), put up a goals board with post-it notes in the bedroom (it's fantastic), and I'm really just getting started.
I just got off the phone with a friend of mine who called at random, and he gave me a number more to implement -- details related to outsourcing, getting a blender and blending up vegetables, managing the calendar better, and a few more.
I'll run out of gas at some point. It's the kind of exercise that burns itself out after a while, once all the visible low-hanging fruit is taken.
But there's a lot of low-hanging fruit, if you really committed to it. I can't think of anything that's shown so much promise and real gain in so little time before. More sleep, more energy, better fitness, better goal-setting, better planning and action. Most of the changes are structural, so semi-permanent even without maintenance.
Highly, highly, highly recommended.