Just Do 50: The Super Simple Method I Use to Stay Consistent Every Time, Everywhere, No Matter How Hard it Gets
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In many areas of life, consistency is the glue that holds long-term success together.
Being consistent means doing things regularly, even when it’s hard. Doing this isn’t easy — it takes a lot of discipline, grit and sometimes an unreasonable amount of stubbornness.
Consistency is the key to improving the quality of your skills and reaching your goals.
Which is why I’m going to explore why consistency is difficult for most people and the simple method I’ve used to overcome it.
Let’s get into it.
Why is consistency difficult?
The first thing to remember is that:
Consistency is not difficult because the task itself is difficult. Consistency is difficult because we have to do the task over and over and over again.
As a species, humans don’t have a problem with doing difficult things. What we have a problem with is doing these difficult things repeatedly and on a regular basis just to hit our goals.
It’s because of this repetition that most people don’t stay consistent with their New Year’s resolutions of joining the gym and getting fit.
It’s why they don’t finish the courses that’ll give them new skills and help them advance in their career.
It’s also why many people struggle to stick to a regular savings plan, even though they know it’s important for their financial future.
And to be honest I don’t blame them. Because when you consider that our brains are wired to run away from difficult things, it only makes sense that most people quit halfway.
But I found a way for me to get past our lazy neurochemistry; a way to stay consistent. I found it when I was building the habit of working out consistently.
It may not work for everyone, but I am confident that it will work for 85–90% of people on the planet, if only they’re willing to try it out.
Are you?
Here’s how it goes.
Just Do 50
I’m a big fan of calisthenics and home workouts. They’re easy, less time-consuming and of course who can say no to the cheapest gym on the market… FREE!
When I first started out, keeping up in the first week wasn’t so hard. It’s from the second week I started to waver.
The first problem was that I would come back home after a long day out and be too tired to do the exercise routine for the day. All I wanted was to shower, watch anime and have dinner. I’d tell myself to “rest, you’ll do it later.” But I never got back to it again that day.
To curb this issue, I tried doing it early in the morning before heading out for the day. I told myself that at least I wouldn’t be too tired to get it done then. Wrong again.
Sometimes I’d wake up too lazy and unmotivated to warm up. But the real issue for me was when I had to be somewhere super early and I was strapped for time. Cutting my routine short didn’t feel right to me so I would skip the workout entirely, promising myself to do it when I got back home. As we’ve seen in the first problem, I didn’t.
A cycle was forming that could prevent me from staying consistent in the long run, so I decided to nip it in the bud.
First I created a cue: showering. Cues are things you use to create habits (good or bad).
I told myself I couldn’t shower if I hadn’t exercised for the day. Seeing how on most days I bathed twice, I had 2 opportunities to put the work in.
As a result of that, if I’m about to shower and I haven’t worked out, I feel guilty. This happens even on days I’m feeling super tired and unmotivated.
To get over the guilt and keep up with my consistent track, I tell myself:
“Just do 50.”
It could be squats or push ups, but I’ll say to myself: just do 50.
I say this to myself for 2 reasons:
- Doing 50 is not difficult, but it’s not too easy either. For most beginners, 50 reps of anything is a proper work out.
- Speed. I can easily do 3 sets of 20 reps in 12–15 mins. Or 4 sets of 15 reps.
And if you’re telling yourself: wait, isn’t that more than 50?
You’re absolutely right!
Which is the whole point.
It’s never just 50.
Most times when I tell myself, just do 50, it’s never just 50. The energy I said I didn’t have usually comes from nowhere and I do way more than I set out to achieve. Doing this rewards your brain and reminds you that you can do more.
And on the days where I do just 50, I never feel guilty. I set a bar that was low enough to hit but not too low that I wouldn’t struggle, and I hit it. Which is good enough for me.
How does this apply to you?
Most people believe that to be consistent they have to give it their absolute best all the time. That isn’t true.
If we don’t have the same levels of energy everyday, why should we be expected to perform at the same levels every day? It doesn’t make sense.
So here’s what you can do to apply my simple method:
If you can’t complete up to 50 reps of any workout comfortably, start with a number that feels manageable yet still gives you a good workout. You want something you can easily reach once you start, but not so easy that you don’t feel the effects of your effort.
So maybe do 30 push ups instead of 50. Or 15 pull ups instead of 30.
If you’re trying to stay consistent and complete your courses more, tell yourself to just do ten minutes of active studying and see what happens.
By active studying I mean you read or listen actively to the module, take out your pen and paper and make notes.
Most people go past that 10 min mark, often reaching 30 or sometimes finishing the entire module for the day.
Just like that you’ve completed a study session for the day even though you didn’t feel like it.
That’s the thing about staying consistent.
It’s fascinating how deciding to start small is often enough to make people do more.
When you build the habit of doing just more than little everyday, you build your muscle of consistency. When you build this skill in one area of your life, soon you’ll be able to transfer it to other areas in your life.
That’s my secret to staying consistent: just do 50. Or in your case, just do X.
Hope it helps.
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