Summary

The article presents a simple strategy for maintaining consistency in personal goals by committing to them for just one day at a time.

Abstract

The author acknowledges the struggle with consistency when pursuing personal goals. After self-reflection and recognizing the ineffectiveness of planning without action, the author identified a straightforward approach to consistency: focusing on one day at a time. The article emphasizes that starting with small, manageable daily commitments can help overcome the intimidation of large goals, reduce the resistance to change, and make it easier to experience the satisfaction of progress, thus building momentum. This one-day-at-a-time method can be applied to various aspects of life, including personal development, parenting, and productivity.

Opinions

Consistency is key to achieving personal goals but is often difficult due to the overwhelming nature of big objectives.
The author admits to having a problem with consistency, as evidenced by unfinished projects and tasks.
Committing to a single day of action makes the goal seem more achievable and less intimidating, reducing the inner voice of resistance.
Successfully sticking to goals for one day can lead to a positive feeling and a desire to continue, making it easier to build habits.
The article suggests that the pleasure of making progress can outweigh the temporary comfort of procrastination.
The author uses the one-day rule to reset in areas like parenting and productivity, finding that momentum often leads to continued effort beyond the initial day.
The article posits that small changes, like the one-day commitment, can have a significant impact on one's life.
It is highlighted that starting towards a goal at any time of day can lead to a productive outcome, challenging the notion that one must wait for a symbolic starting point.

One Easy Trick to Help You Stay Consistent

Commit to only one day at a time

“Everything you want is waiting for you on the other side of consistency.” Bhumika Marwah

I hate that she’s right. Consistency the key to achievement but it’s also my long-time nemesis.

My first step on the journey of intentional living was (a lot of) self-reflection. Reflecting on the parts of my life that weren’t working. The parts of my life I wanted to improve. How I wanted to spend my time. My values. My goals. And what I wanted my life to look like down the road.

Through that process, and after doing a whole lot of planning but not a lot of doing, I quickly realized that consistency was my biggest weakness.

By way of example, in two years I’ve learned to play 30 seconds of Fur Elise on the piano. My task list is often where to-dos go to die. And, a few years ago, I took a painting class and painted everything but the tail of the bird. Everything but the tail!

Needless to say, I have a problem with consistency. Luckily, I’ve found one easy trick that’s helped me stay consistent: I commit to doing things for only one day.

Why Consistency Is Hard

The biggest reason I struggle to stay consistent is that my goals often feel overwhelming, making getting started hard.

Goals like being a calm, connected mom, or writing a book feel too big and unattainable. (Although not the bird’s tail, I really should have finished that one.) It’s easy to put something off until the next day when it feels overwhelming.

I’ve become a pro at convincing myself that I’ll start tomorrow or next week. I’ve been “about to start” the Chloe Ting two-week challenge for over a month.

If we’re honest, not starting feels more comfortable.

How to Finally Start

There’s one thing that’s helped me the most in overcoming the discomfort of finally starting: I commit to doing things for only one day.

I know what you’re thinking. That’s ridiculous. You can’t accomplish any goal in one day. First of all, you can if your goal is to load the dishwasher. Second of all, while it’s true you won’t see all of the results you want in one day, you won’t see any results if you don’t start at all. The key then is to start.

“We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act but a habit.” Aristotle

Committing to doing something for only one day helps you start because your goal feels more attainable. The goal isn’t to write the whole book, it’s to write for ten minutes one day. That’s way less intimidating.

Because of that, the inner voice of resistance that normally tries to stand in the way of your growth doesn’t feel as threatened so it doesn’t try too hard to stop you.

Why Committing to One Day Helps You Stay Consistent

What I’ve found is that when I do stick to my goals for one day, I’m more likely to keep going beyond that day because it feels good. And why wouldn’t it feel good? I’m doing things that are good for my mind, body, and soul. Things like writing, listening to inspirational talks and staying calm with my kids.

Being a couch potato for too many days in a row? That makes me feel numb. Which serves the purpose of helping me escape reality. But it doesn’t make me feel good. Ask yourself, is your goal to feel numb or to feel good? I choose to feel good. When I go to turn on the TV I remind myself of that.

When you experience closing the gap between who you are and who you want to be, it’ll feel so good you won’t want to stop. And doing it again the next day will feel much easier because the memory of how good it feels is fresh. Plus, it’s easier to maintain momentum than it is to start from scratch. Because physics.

I use this approach with everything from parenting to staying productive. Staying calm with my kids is at the top of my priority list. But, with two toddlers I fall short. A lot. I use the one day rule to help me reset. When I’m having trouble sticking to my goal, I commit to staying calm for one day. It feels more attainable that way. Then the next day it’s almost always easier to build on the progress because I have momentum.

Sometimes, that one day is all you need to reset.

I also use the one day trick to help me stay productive and stick to healthy habits. If I’ve been in a slump and need to restart my productive routine, I commit to doing so for only one day. Then I give myself permission to go back to being a couch potato. Almost every time, I keep going because it feels too good to stop.

And sometimes when I feel really stuck I tell myself to do only one thing that’s productive or helps me connect with my kids that day. Once I start on that track I almost always want to keep going.

Committing to only one day doesn’t work every time, but it has made the biggest difference in helping me stay consistent with my goals. It’s also easy to do. Lucky for us, the small things tend to have the biggest impact.

In case your inner resistance starts to gear up, know that it’s never too late in the day or in the week to start. Your ‘one day’ doesn’t need to start at 8:00 AM tomorrow or a Monday or the top of the hour or the first of the month or when the clock hits an even number. You can turn a lazy day into a super productive one at 3:42 PM on a Tuesday. I know because I’ve done it.