Determine the daily win
Episode #10 of the course Small habits that yield big results by Joe Bennett
This is the most recent addition for me. I’ve always liked to win. I grew up as an athlete, and in that framework, it was easy to know what winning looked like and the exact moment victory was achieved.
Now, as an adult living a life that’s not based on sports and games, I’ve found it difficult to know what winning means.
Until lately, I just never knew if I was doing well. Subconsciously, I always felt frustrated, like no traction was happening.
Now, I look at the day and think, “What does it mean to win today?” I try to highlight just one thing. “If I get this one thing accomplished, that’s a win!”
Admittedly, I thrive on achievement, but I think we all do at some level. And who doesn’t want to be productive and make the most of every day?
Your “winning” doesn’t have to even be accomplishments or achievements. It can be small if you want or something super challenging.
How you do it
The best time to determine what winning looks like is the night before. Write down in your journal what it means to win the next day. Or, if you need to, do it first thing in the morning.
Doing it the night before helps you hit the ground running right when you get out of bed. Writing it down helps you make it concrete and committed.
Resist the temptation to do more than one thing. You’ll naturally do more than just that during the day, but remember, that one thing you wrote down—that’s the treasure you’re after. Let it be one thing so you can focus and get it done.
Now, if you get it done and you have a lot more daylight left, go ahead and conquer something else, but don’t divert your efforts between 2 or more things.
The benefit to you
1. You’ll start getting shit done (At least 365 things a year!).
2. You’ll form a powerful habit of committing to doing something and then doing it. This alone will make you stand out from most of humanity.
3. You’ll feel like a rockstar every day because you defined what it meant to win and you did what it took to get the win!
The science
Our brains are really amazing. They’re great at focusing on and then accomplishing stuff one. thing. at. a. time.
At least this is true regarding the neocortex. This is the advanced part of your brain used for problem-solving and attention. It’s also the most resource-demanding part of your brain.
It takes a lot of effort to focus on one thing and get it done no matter what it is. People who create long to-do lists only handicap their neocortexes by throwing too many problems at it.
This is why writing what you want to win down the night before and then just keeping it to one thing works. It allows your neocortex to focus on solving the problems that come up for a singular accomplishment.
Congrats on completing the course! I hope you’re already starting to see the effects of what you’ve learned. Remember to celebrate each time you do one of these small habits and you’ll see them take root even faster.
Head over to thejoebennett.com for more inspiration!
Recommended book
“Smarter Faster Better: The Secrets of Being Productive in Life and Business” by Charles Duhigg
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