- Topics: [[Persistence]] --- "Everyday effort" is how I describe the little things I do daily to help me become more productive, proactive, responsive, reflective, and overall... a better version of myself at work and outside of work. There have been many versions of this idea, including the most popular in recent times, [[Atomic habits]] by James Clear. ### Value My everyday efforts, or atomic habits, are tasks I've identified for myself to do that aim to either improve a skill or cultivate a workflow I'd like improved at work. Both of these support the things that I value, which (hopefully) align with the values of others and the organization. For example, I believe that great (not just good enough) documentation is important. It makes things more efficient and supports my personal belief that **information and knowledge should be accessible to all**, especially if it helps folks understand and do their work better. My everyday effort to support this is that I either create or update a document or note every single day - all without anyone ever asking me to do it. I do this because I think it's important, it helps me, and it helps others. ### Where to start I would start by identifying something that you'd either like to get better at or something you'd like the organization to get better at. It could be writing (code) tests, tidying up Figma files, improving internal communications, improving the efficiency of meetings, organizing tasks, etc... Identify a task that you can do within **2 minutes or less**. If you're feeling ambitious... identify three 2-minute tasks. It could be as easy as saying "Good morning" everyday. The main thing is that you know that it supports something that you value. Identifying the simple tasks is the easy part. The hard part isn't necessarily doing them, but **consistently doing them every day**. For that, I have several rules I've picked up and follow to help me with my everyday efforts. ### Rules There are many little rules that I follow on a daily basis. Here are 3 that I try to honor as part of my everyday efforts: **2-minute rule** There are many flavors of the [[2-minute rule]]. The one I like is... - If it takes 2 minutes or less, do it now. - If it takes longer than 2 minutes, note it down and do it later (but _actually_ do it). - For something you want to do, just do it for just 2 minutes. The fundamental idea is to overcome "the dread" of simply getting started. For work tasks, this may be writing daily updates to let cross-functional partners know what your team is doing (and what to expect). Or for personal tasks, it may be putting dishes away from the dishwasher after a wash cycle (for some reason, I really hate doing this, but I do it). **Don't miss twice** It's okay if you weren't able to get your everyday thing done that day. Life happens. Fires happen. We're human. However, try your absolute best to not miss twice in a row. **Eat the frog** The idea for "**[Eat the frog](https://todoist.com/productivity-methods/eat-the-frog)**" is to do the boring, unfun, annoying, hard thing at the start of your day. It goes like this... - Let's say, you (for whatever reason), had to eat a frog every single day. - It's best to do it in the morning. That way, you can get on with the rest of your day. - Otherwise, you'd spend the entire day thinking about and stressing over the fact that you still have yet to eat that frog. ### Results I feel fulfilled because I stayed committed to doing important things that align with my personal values. I could have a bad day... but at least I did x, y, and z that make me feel productive and give me a sense of accomplishment. By doing these everyday things, you create for yourself a sense of momentum. "Momentum makes magic", as the saying goes. And this momentum helps you keep going. To help with momentum... I recommend you create something that visualizes your everyday efforts. It could be an "X" you mark in your calendar. A thing you complete in your habit tracking app. A check you mark in your todo list. Something where, when **zoomed out**, you can see the collective efforts you put in over days, weeks, and months. Not only is this a great motivator, but it's also a representation of personal effort that you've put in that **you can be proud of** - something that no one can deny nor take away from you. My everyday efforts are visualized in the collection of physical notes I've taken for work. Starting from the beginning of January 2022, I've amassed hundreds of handwritten/printed notes that have helped me work through ideas, projects, and tasks. Fast forward about 1.5 years later, I can look back at my stack of papers and say to myself... "I did that." Your everyday efforts will look and feel different than mine and everyone else's. What matters is you knowing why you're doing it, that you do it, and that you keep on doing it.