Do it every day

A few months ago, I talked about how I push for “always” to help achieve “usually”, meaning there are some things that I try to do every day simply to make sure they get done sometimes.

While reading Molly Beck’s excellent book “ Reach Out”, she shared a quote from Gretchen Rubin’s blog that is a perfect explanation of what I had been trying to say:

One of my Secrets of Adulthood-perhaps counter-intuitively-is “It’s often easier to do something every day than to do it some days.” I post to my blog six days a week. I take notes every day. I write in my one-sentence journal every day. Many people have told me that they find it easier to exercise when they exercise every day.

If I try to do something four days a week, I spend a lot of time arguing with myself about whether today is the day, or tomorrow, or the next day; did the week start on Sunday or Monday; etc. And that’s exhausting.

Making something a daily habit, whether it’s blogging or painting or exercise, reduces a ton of mental overhead. No more of “if I skip today I can do it tomorrow and still hit three for the week” — you’re just the kind of person that does it every day, so go do it.

Originally published at https://www.mickmel.com on October 10, 2022.