One idea that I keep reminding myself is this idea of being 1% better.
I’m not sure if I’m getting the idea exactly right, but if I remember correctly, the idea is basically that if you are 1% better every day, then over the course of 365 days, that effort will compound to make you 37 times better by the end of the year.
For me, from a macro point of view that makes sense, but on a day to day micro point of view, it’s just so easy to say “oh I’ll do it tomorrow” or “oh, I’ll catch up later.”
Seeing the big picture, the starting point and end point, and the overall path to success is really easy for me, but getting down to business every single day and telling myself to keep going is a challenge.
I know that I just have to make things automatic, so that it becomes easier to do my studies and research than to not do it.
I think it’s a mental battle for me, fighting between hard work and laziness, watching YouTube, and wanting to turn my brain off.
I think just aiming to be 1% better will keep my daily expectations in check and help me realize that my daily progress, no matter how seemingly small, is really going to add up to something great at the end.