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Journal Entry 3 – How to get 37.78 times better in a year

This will be a summary of a portion of the book atomic habits and my own insight and opinions on the effect it has on looking for the 1%s in your life.

July 10th, 4:52 am
What’s the significance of looking for the 1% in things?

This is the most important factor to me as I’m writing this because if I were to tell you to just get 1% better today, you may look at me weird. Assume I don’t want you to grow drastically or make progress fast.

For a seemingly insignificant number, that 1% is the foundation of all progress. You cant get to 2% without the 1%.

But why focus on the 1% and not the 2? or 5?

I had this same question as well when I started reading the book Atomic Habits by James Clear and he explains it in a way that makes it very simplified to understand why this magical 1% is so very important.

Improving by 1% isn’t particularly notable. Sometimes not even noticeable. But it can be far more meaningful in the long run…

The effects of small habits compound over time, for example, if you can get just 1 percent better each day, you’ll end up with results that are nearly 37 times better after one year.

Atomic habits James Clear

That is where that 37.78 number comes from. Its very appealing to think you can be 37 times the person you are today in a year right?

Well that is done by 1% each day.

This is a simple chart he shows in the book to give a visual.

These 1%’s make a compound interest of self-improvement the same way money does.

The effects of your habits multiply as you repeat them

they seem improbable to have any affect now and for me at least, it was a difficult concept to grasp and notice within your daily life. But when you look back years from now. that’s when you’ll see those 1%’s add up.

For more clarity, as the book is called, that 1% he speaks of are habits, and one important thing you have to keep in mind, is that not all habits are good, not everything you do will be positive habit.

If you look at the diagram again, you’ll see another line, and that line is if you got 1% worse every day. By the end of the year, you’ll be around 1% of who you were a year prior.

When you fail to recognize bad habits it can be just as impactful and even harder to notice, the same way good habits will compound into good results, bad ones will compound into toxic results.

Your end result, is all built upon your habits, what you will achieve or not achieve, isn’t done over the course of months, but over the course of days and days stacked upon each other.

Each day is its own day of growth, so why do we only see growth as blocks and not as pieces? Does Lego send you 6 big Lego pieces to build a set? No, they send you hundreds of pieces, and you will have to apply the same effort to matching each piece together if you hope to build your goal.

My 1%’s

There is a lot of things that I now look out for in my daily life, but some of the most consistent things that have changed the productivity of my day, and even if it may have no real reason to be implemented in my life right now. I know that building good habits and building consistent 1%’s within my daily life. Will benefit me in my future no matter what it may do.

Ive modeled a lot of my 1%’s after highly successful people, artist, athletes, high level business men and woman. and I picked up a lot of the things the top 1% have as daily 1% of growth within their life.

the most profound habits I have built that I feel has changed my life for the better have been things such as these

  • I Journal every morning and night, it clears my mind for the day and helps me understand the task that need to be done, and at night it helps me put my worries and/or anxiety’s, off of me, and on the page so that I don’t have to think about them anymore when I’m trying to fall asleep
  • On that note, I put my phone up around 8:30 every night, and I’m in bed by 9, up by 4, every single day.
    • This has made my levels or productivity, energy, and overall excitement for the day much better. A consistent sleep schedule has ensured that I reproduce the most ATP for my next day of life, and enough REM sleep to be able to functionally attack it all.
    • No more late nights of gaming, no more being on tik tok until way too late. Its really assuring knowing when youll be asleep and when you’ll wake up.
  • First thing I do in the morning Monday through Saturday after I journal is go to the gym, on Sundays as they are my rest day, I journal and read until 8 (still up at 4 on the weekends, its all about consistency) and go to the coffee shop and continue doing whatever I stopped at, maybe read or just sit and eat, maybe with a friend, coffee trips are never set in stone.
  • Last thing is read.
    • this is one I sometimes struggle with, but I think its just as important as the rest and I really need to make a real effort on making it a real habit within my daily life.
    • I want to try to read every morning before I get on my phone, and every night before I go to bed. Not for a super long time, but just to make sure that my day starts and ends with reading, I feel that would be nice.
Things that I want to implement into my life is going to be
  • Daily Meditation
  • Starting conversation with at least 1 stranger a day
  • Being kinder to myself
  • Read more books that will provide genuine insight and knowledge to me and my life
Questions for you
  • What habits within your life do you feel is making you 1% better?
    • What habits do you want to try to instill to make yourself 1% better today?
  • What habits within your life do you feel is making you 1% worse?
    • How are you going to try to make these habits either a productive habit, or how are you going to discontinue this habit?

So after all this. It sounds amazing and awesome, but keep in mind, good habits aren’t easy to build but once they become a habit their easy to continue, bad habits are hard to notice and even harder to stop doing once they become a habit.

Look for the 1% every where you can today, get 1% better at being kind, get your lifting form 1% better, get your mindset 1% better. before you know it you’ll be going through days with a lot more than just 1%. If you could be 37 times what you are today in a year with just 1%, could you imagine who you could be if you managed to get 5-10 1%’s throughout the day?

5:44 am

Closing statements

Thank you for anyone who came to read today, I thank you for being here and hope you have an amazing day.

Be the best version of you today

and get 1% better.

Below is a link to the book Atomic Habits by James clear, I highly recommend the book, it has a lot of insight and a lot more information you can use just like what you’ve read here today.

Its currently priced at 11.98, for 12 dollars, that’s only a one dollar bill 12 times! lol

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