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Improve by 1%

by Tori Roalef
January 31, 2025

Motivation is hard. Finishing tasks is challenging. Completing goals is difficult. The many responsibilities from day-to-day take up a lot of energy that sometimes it feels like there is no energy left to accomplish anything.

This week, let's stop looking at the bigger picture and end goal—it feels so far away anyway. Instead, let's look at our feet and where we are standing now. Then, take one step. And tomorrow, take another step.

The Idea of the Week

The 1% Rule is about focusing on small improvements. You build momentum towards your goal. This incremental progress is easier to sustain than taking huge chunks of your day to work on your goal when you have other daily responsibilities. In this 8-minute video, James Clear breaks down this idea of continuous improvement and shares several tips on how to take small steps toward your goals.

Though sometimes the 1% improvement we need isn’t necessarily a habit. Instead, it’s a creative project or a larger goal that doesn’t need to be implemented every day.

For instance, follow Ariel Bissett on her 15-minute video to improve her home by 1% by completing tiny projects around her house. You can implement this idea into your life, whether at work, school, home, or anywhere! Ask yourself, “What is something I can do in the next 5 or 15 minutes that would make me feel 1% better?”

The Practice of the Week

This 1% rule can also be used to improve your mental health. In this 15-minute video, Emma McAdam from Therapy in a Nutshell explores how Atomic Habits can apply to mental health. First, she explains 3 principles of change to use when working on the 1% Rule:

Pick the low-hanging fruit: Choose the activity that takes the least amount of effort. The idea is about small steps that add up, so choose the one that you do not need to use a lot of energy for. That activity will then give you more energy to choose another small activity that, in turn, gives you a little more energy, and so on.
Create a system. A system is a way of making the process easier for you. For instance, if you are picking up the habit of reading every day, place the book on your nightstand to read a few pages before you go to bed.
Use a habit tracker. Buy a paper calendar, or a whiteboard calendar, or use a digital tracker and mark off each day that you took that one step.

Finally, in Emma’s video above, she offers several ideas for tiny habits, such as watching less news, going for a walk, and deepening relationships you already have. Check out the video for all 20+ ideas!