Better Than Yesterday wow the things you mentioned are the very things i want to accomplish (just replace meditation with writing). i expect less from everything except my piano practice (w/c i practice 1 hour or more daily)
6:10 reminds me of "supereasy barely an inconvinience" xD if you dont know this phrase you need some of this :) ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-DTU4xoVKmPE.html just watch one episode (~6mins) then you will know
@@MasterTow1994 I've read both. Atomic habits I feel is 2.0 of mini habits. Both are worth reading or listening to. Just like two points of view on same subject is always a good idea.
THis really helped me as I'm learning JavaScript and had a goal of doing an hour a day - it never happened. So after watching this I'm going to do 10 minutes a day - then I saw your comment and it's really motivated me!!
This feels like the third Law of Behavioral change: #3. Make it easy (#1. Make it obvious #2. Make it attractive #3. Make it easy #4. Make it satisfying) This is what was concluded from reading “Atomic Habits” of James Clear
Momentum is amazing. If you can get the ball rolling, things just start to snowball. Next thing you know, you have an avalanche of momentum on your side, and you are accomplishing amazing things.👍
I live by mini habits. Thank you for confirming that it's not being unproductive. I'm a writer and the hardest part is starting. That's why my daily goal is simple: just write one paragraph. Usually, more flows out, but all I need is one.
Elliot Chan Hmm ! I will try this. I’ve been battling a lot of self doubt with songwriting and it keeps me from even starting. But I’ll take your advice ! Thanks 🙏🏾
This is such common sense stuff...but I’ve had to learn this the hard way. At least I can say I’m getting things done. The hardest part I think isn’t even doing something for 2min, it’s learning to ACCEPT that 2min activity as GOOD ENOUGH. Being a perfectionist and having an all-or-nothing attitude will honestly rot your soul and rob you of the joy of living.
Exactly the problem I've been trying to overcome. It helps SO much when you can stop expecting perfection of yourself for even a few minutes at a time. The floodgates of productivity start opening.
I’m paralyzed by perfection expectations. I’m trying the mini habits, but I also have to work on ‘believing and accepting” that the completion of said mini task is a success and not another lazy attempt at a goal.
I've also been struggling with perfectionism and all-or-nothing attitude. I guess If I manage to accept that 2min are a success by themselves, it would feel really great.
Consistency beats intensity. I live by the phrase, "doing something is better than doing nothing." 10 mins of exercise is better than 0 mins, 10 mins of studying is better than 0 mins and the list goes on.
Thanks. I needed this. I have been prodcastinating my studies for the past two months. Instead of 1 topic per day , I start with 1 page only. My interest on the subject grew everyday. Now I have completed my revision and totally prepared for my exams !
For those of you that are unsure if this works, it does, I have had to learn this the hard way as I have had an illness for 15 years that has taken most of my energy so I have to do small amounts when I can and I achieve a lot by not setting any deadline as I have no energy to set a deadline, so I get it done when I get it done and I succeed. I have been thinking about starting a youtube channel to show people how I do what I do because if I can achieve tasks anybody can.
superfluityme I’m in a similar position and struggling to get things done. I’m so weak right now that just imagining the energy involved in doing some of the things I need to do is overwhelming. I would watch your channel if you made it!
Same here. I have a muscular disease (PLS) and have had a stroke in the past. I try not to make a long to-do list because I then set myself up for failure. I would definitely watch your videos.
@@booksinbed so you break those projects down into the absolute minimum tasks possible. Want to type something? Start by turning on the computer. Then open the program for the typing. Etc. Read the book this info was pilfered from... MINI HABITS by Stephen Guise.
I've been doing these for over 3 years now and the results are priceless. I feel more calm and balanced, never been more healthy physically and mentally. At the meantime I also learned a language, play the piano again, can now do new amazing yoga poses, redecorated the apartment, ticked a lot items off my bucket list, and so on... whoever feels lost or overwhelmed, please remember: once you start something it will get better. You will get better. And you will enjoy it. 💞
Manjesh Banawara i dont get that much sick. there comes the benefits of healthy living! but if i have a cold, for example, i workout 5 minutes only. it's so easy when you know everything will be done in 5 min, everyone has 5
I have been doing this for reading, since february :) I need to read two pages a day, and sometimes I do more. I'm not a big fan of reading, but I am getting better at it every day. Yesterday I read 12 pages, and I finished my first book about a week ago. One might say that 2 months is way too long to finish one book. But if I had higher expectations I probably wouldn't have finished it.
I was severely depressed (could barely get out of bed) and started doing this. 3 months later, I am now starting a new business, and my life is thriving in all areas. I use an amazing app (Habits) to help me keep track of my habits; the widget is on my main page, so, it's the first thing I see when I unlock my phone. I have 10 mini habits (5 mins of yoga, 5 mins of cleaning per room, gratitude journal, etc.) You can honestly even do 1 minute or less (think one push up). The point is to keep the habit alive. The trick is to commit to doing it, No. Matter. What.
L. Winter Well done. I did the same but exercise (just doing like 3-15 minutes a day over the summer holidays) and it made me feel so much better about myself. I stopped doing it for a while because I got a job and I felt pretty bad about that but now I’ve started again it’s come back. I think doing little things successfully is a great way for people who aren’t in the best place to start getting some focus, which eventually develops and in a way makes them stronger than those who haven’t gone through stuff like that.
key words "The point is to keep the habit alive. The trick is to commit to doing it, No. Matter. What." Even if it's one pushup a day, it's so much better than only doing 20 pushups once a month. Even if there won't be much of physical improvement, it is much better to train your brain to learn how to be consistent.
My best shape ever came about because of this. I asked myself how many sit ups I could easily do every day, and then I did half. After a week I added a little more, and then some more. After a while I took two walks and did thre sets of situps and one pushup, every day... And then I got a cold and everything fell apart. I didnt allow myself to fall back on the small habbit.
The whole point is to not increase your expectations. So even when you aren't motivated, you can still do it because it's way too easy. Some days you'll want to do more, so you do more. But don't increase your expectations of yourself, because when your motivation gives out, you'll just fall off the path because you raised the barrier too high again
I agree. Once you get started the people around you will expect you to continue and will push you to do greater things, once you build repetition and a reputation you're on your way
I was racing, after I started I was easily doing it, but then I tripped, and I basically failed. So yeah, momentum is easy to sustain, but if you stop it can be hard to get back so yeah =)
@@Adi-rr1rs , interesting question. For me it happened like he mentioned in the video. For example, I would put for myself the goal of studying for 15 minutes in the beginning. When I got the 15 minutes mark, I'd go on studying and ended up studying 2 hours or so. When the goal is easy, you procrastinate much less, and when you get the goal, the feeling of victory (dopamine) you get makes you keep on working. It's been 2 and half years since I decided using this method. Now, I study about 3 hours everyday (for self improvement, I am not a student anymore), meditate everyday and work out everyday. So I ended up been more productive and disciplined than I have ever been in my life. And for a long period of time.
Meu problema é apenas com o pontapé inicial. Não faz sentido, mas a quantidade de tempo estudando não é o principal problema pra mim, e sim como iniciar tal ação.
This is the best life hack I've ever picked up! I started implementing it about 3-4 months ago and it really works! Amazing tool. I highly suggest reading Atomic Habits, it talks more in-depth about the logic behind mini habits.
Excellent video. That simple; that good! I’m 70 years old and wish I’d had this explanation earlier, but hey, it’s never too late to start anything. The feeling of accomplishment is actually quite satisfying.
The best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago, or in your case maybe 50. But the best second best time to plant one is now. Much respect to your effort. 👌🙏👍
I meditated for 30 seconds, did art for 30 seconds, read 30 words of a book, did 3 push-ups, 3 planks, 3 chin ups, cleaned for 3 seconds, helped an old lady across half a street 🤙🏻 I feel so successful and it’s still only 8am 😛👏🏻
But try and do it EVERY DAY for 3 months...that's how you develop the discipline. Once you master that, then do a bit more until you master that, and so on, but don't go backwards (maybe take a step back to ease up, then get back to it. Instead of burning out and giving up all together)
I was locked up in depression for weeks . I could find no way out . I,m a painter and clay artist . I didn't want to make a painting that wasn,t a great work of art . That kept me paralyzed and unable to start . Out of desperation I finally began by lowering my expectations and only allowing myself to paint for 5 mins. a day . It sounds ridiculous but working on such a small goal has really helped me . I,ve been going now for almost 2 years and have accomplished hundreds of these small works of art . It is amazing how working on smaller goals can take all the pressure off . Thanks for the video . It reaffirms what I had to figure out the hard way .
it is so true. Exactly 89 days ago, I decided to take Duolingo seriously and started learning Spanish. I decided I didn't have to study 1 hour every day, instead I decided I wanted to study every single day at least 1 minute. Of almost 100 days, I missed only 4. Now, it is part of my routine. I don't even think about it, I just study and it feels good. Maybe I'm not running fast, but I can assume I didn't stop my running. And I don't pretend to, not until I achieve my goal. I'm taking one step every day. There are days I study less than 5 minutes. But still, I didn't give up my goal. I've noticed the more I want to do, the less I actually do. Also, don't worry about your final goal, but about your daily mission. When I have to get done my Duolingo lessons, I think about it more like a daily mission than a lifetime quest.
This is a great method. I've used it with my novel-writing process. Some writers would aim for 1000 words a day. I tried before, and I just couldn't be consistent with it, so I dialed it down to 250 words which is much more manageable. With this mini habit, I was able to sustain a schedule of 1 chapter update each week.
This is biggest discovery in my life, after so many failures with seting GOALs that I was not able to achieve and get only frustration and anger out of it I use tiny goals and after just few days instead of fatigue and rising preasure that I won't be able to reach them I can feel that I'm having some fun and growing each single step that starts small but I almost always want to do more. Cool stuff, THANKS
Good video. As I often say: “The secret to happiness is low expectations.” I say that somewhat in jest, but I know, and this video confirms, that there’s an important kernel of truth in it.
I tried to be Ambitious and set very high goals and it's very stressful when I don't even take the first step, from now on I will use this method of Mini habits instead of seeking drastic changes.
Sometimes i even miss these little habits... BUT it's so much easier to get back on track and to start again. It hasn't this big 'oh no all of this was a loss and failure'-vibe and feeling. Because not a lot of stuff slipped through the fingers (not 20min of meditation, only 2min), so it's easier to get over the self built guilt and start again. I really love your vids and i try to get a little bit of it from time to time and not try to do perfect from the 'beginning'. That's so helpful
At 2:46 when you start listing off activities, I *DID* think, "wow, you aren't accomplishing anything." Then I thought, well, even a few push-ups is more exercise than I usually get in. And playing the piano for 3 minutes a day, is more time in a week or month than I play an instrument. Awesome video! Great content!👍
The Japanese call this Kaizen - continuous small improvements. There is a book called One Small Step that discussed this. I think it’s a pretty powerful idea.
Only if you think you must jog for a mile or two. If goal is jog from your bedroom to the living room, then most days you will find yourself out of the front door and to the car pack or round your block. Make the jogging goal shortest distance possible. Even bedroom to bathroom can be accomplished last thing in your pyjamas on the most tired days. The difficult part is to decide how important jogging is to you. 😊
I put a lot of tasks into each day. I’ve decided to read for 10-15 min every day. It doesn’t seem like much, but before I know it, I end up completing a book pretty quickly and better myself each time.
My goal is to learn Italian for at least 10 minutes a day, and this is my 148th day so far. It works great, because I often learn much more a day and I never miss one. This is essentially what I did to learn English, and it totally worked!
I finished reading the Bible cover to cover using this method, I only started with 1 chapter a day, then it snowballed into reading God's Word up to 5-7 times a day. It did take me 2 years, but hey, I still got to finish it! If I never implemented this, I still wouldn't have finished the Bible by now. Same with prayer, and exercise etc. This definitely works!
@lowly servant : Same here. The first time I managed to read the whole Bible was by imposing myself 1 chapter per day. Some days, I would only read 1 chapter, than another day I would read 19 chapters. I finished it in 1 years and 2 months which was a lot for someone who reads very slowly (my initial goal was to read it in one year so it wasn't that bad). Nowadays, I just listen to it in audio so I cover the Word much faster ^^ As you said @lowly servant, it also works with prayer. I knew the Lord was calling me to intercession but I had such a hard time to start because even a goal of 10 minutes a day was too high for me to achieve. So I begun with 1 minute a day after learning the "60 seconds rule" from an inspirational video like this one. The video I watched back then said it was something in Japanese culture to do things for 60 seconds to achieve a goal. I ended up being able to pray round the clock. Even when I was asleep, I would pray in the Spirit in my dreams ^^ I am not praying that much now, but it was a wonderful season to experience.
I’m on 260 straight days of doing push-ups thanks to mini habits, and I also got a long streak of sit-ups and stretching as well :) this stuff definitely works!
@ You can start really small, say do 5 if that is hard, say 2 or even 1. The goal is where your at not where someone els is at, and yeah say you do 2 everyday for 3 mnd and then everyday you go over that goal and you feel that that is "to easy" you can then start to say your goal is 4 every day insted or what ever fits you
@whatever04 I think 1 push up as a bare minimum per day is perfectly fine. It's so low, but that's the entire point. It should be so ridiculously easy that not doing the habit would be completely unreasonable, even when (slightly) sick i think even getting in the push up position once per day is good already to start
Oh! I do this. I tell people I actually do my new years resolutions because I have such low expectations that are still open to excelling beyond them. I got myself to exercise daily because I said "ok you literally just have to go downstairs and jog 1 mile then lift weights the rest of a half hour" when i had a sort of (very simple) gym in the basement of my apt building, then when I moved to the city and didn't have a way to run without stopping every block, I just changed it to sprinting uphill. I almost always would get at least 3 or 4 days a week with a decent workout and felt good enough to get out to hike on weekends from that. In a related approach for flossing daily I basically just had to tell myself daily ok "well you only have to brush but not floss" and then every day as I brushed I would think "flossing takes like 20 seconds, so much easier than brushing I might as well do that real quick after". At first if I still put up a fight because I had a couple teeth taken out I'd add "you don't even have as many teeth as most people you lazy ass."
Every time I don't feel like doing something, I just tell myself "I'll do it for 5 minutes, then do something else." A few hours later, job done! I think it's normal to get discouraged, because the conscious part of our brain can usually focus on one thing at a time. When we think about a project that takes hours, days, months, we take into account hundreds of things that need to be done to accomplish that goal. And that's just too much. Brain says "Naaah, that's too much work, too complicated, too hard! Let's do something easy." So, do the right thing: focus on the first step and only on the first step. Tell yourself you'll just do that. Need to write a book? Tell yourself you'll write a page. Still too hard? Tell yourself you'll write a sentence.
I find "mini-tasking" for cognitive tasks also gives your brain some time to "digest" information in the background and so when you come back to it, it seems easier and you feel more creative...especially after a mini-nap
One other thing I appreciate is a little at a time. I definitely need to be okay with it taking a very long time to accomplish my goal. "Objects in motion stay in motion. Motivation to continue will come after starting." Excellent advice. Thank you. Just what I've been looking for. 👍🏾👏🏾👏🏾👏🏾👏🏾
This philosophy is absolutely spot on!!! I have been doing it for years. If I plan a walk (for exercise) but then feel lazy, I just trick myself by saying "I'll just walk as far as Smith Cove". Invariably when I get to that spot (which is only half a mile away), I will in fact walk further. After my walk, I always feel good and tremendously pleased that I did more.
Is your Smith Cove on an island, by chance? Simply asking, since I have a special place in my heart for a place by the same name & I used to say the same thing to myself, walk or run, but I’d always end up going further then of course double back which meant stopping there for a good swim or taking a back road which made for smelling the best jerk & hard-dough bread, ever! (I’d often end up there for late late dinner but never felt bad about enjoying the authentic walk-up window food - wrapped in foil - served by Ms.Vigh(sp?) herself or one of her daughters with a smile - if I offered one first, plus a hearty thank you!) I hope your Smith Cove is just as special. Thanks for the memory & keep on, walking or running, whatever you have to do to keep moving - it helps move others - thanks again! It’s been a decade since I ran, but this memory can get me up & out the door in the morning, I know it! You’re an angel!
I think the mini version of a walk would be to reach the end of your block. Consistently doing at least half a mile requires a great deal more willpower, so congrats for that.
This is a game changer! I always start habits but my expectations are high (exercise for 1 hr, meditate for 10 mins, read 2 chapter of book, etc) that I can't get any momentum to continue. Now I'll create mini habits, I hope I'll be more productive in the long run. Thank you for this!
This tip changed my life. I always blamed my ADD for beeing unproductive, but the Mini habit is a massive gateway into getting things done, even for people with my condition, even with issues focusing, I can still get a lot done
This is exactly what I needed. Im in IT and have several certifications I want to achieve. But after working all day and dealing with family duties, I lose most of my motivation to study. I am going to try to start off with commiting to 20 minutes of study per day minimum. Thanks!
I suffer from depression and anxiety, I don't accomplish anything I start doing, so I'm going to start doing those mini habits, thank you so much. Edit: your voice is soothing kind of relaxing and the animation is quite nice (:
A statement might help when you say to yourself whenever you want to accomplish anything "I am just one step away" and humans actually are because our potential is far more than any obstacle or hurdles Hope this helps
I feel liberated and happy while trying this out! What a relief it is to let myself do only a little bit daily instead of feeling pressured to do it all then guilty for getting absolutely nothing done. I made list of 5 things and give myself 4 minutes for each task. It's surprising how much I can get done in that short bit of time. 😊
I'm a much older infirm lady but I still run my property on my own. I combine tasks or fit one task inside or beside another larger task. So that's a little bit like this mini habits. I've never had a problem being a self starter or having the enthusiasm to get on and get things done. But with age has come this infirmaty with pain. So enthusiasm had become an issue plus things now take four times as long to achieve. However, the list of to-do tasks and chores never gets any shorter! For example, at horse feeding time in the afternoon, there is a 5min period after the horses have first been given their feeds where I need to just oversee them and not but in. I sometimes sit and plan tomorrow or I can do a small task like weeding the area of the paddock where we are standing. There are lots more weeds than I can pull out in that 5mins but its a start. Doing this every day for a week or so, sees the area cleared of weeds. Then I can extend the area I clear which I did over this last month. Now it looks nice and tidy so I'm glad I put in that small effort. I can also clean the horse's water trough but sometimes thats a chore that takes more than 5 mins since the tap is 50m away uphill through the vegie garden. But what if I broke it down into two different tasks over two days? So I did the scrubbing one day, then pulled the plug to empty it while running to the tap the next day and the trough got done and refilled. There are a multitude of small tasks I can do on the way to, or while waiting for other things to happen. So by the end of the day I have crossed off most things on my extensive list. I actually don't like leaving a task half done by committing Xminutes to it then walking away to do something else. I often have to use tools which I need to carry to the site of the task then put away. So only doing half the task means double handling the tools which wastes time. Or walking some distance twice to a task location if it's not done in one go. But by the addition of one tool to my trolley, I can do an extra task on the way. So sometimes it pays and sometimes it doesn't. However, if you always have good intentions and are a genuine honest self starter, you WILL get everything done every day. If for some reason you gave it your genuine best effort but didn't achieve the goal, don't beat yourself up because there is always tomorrow. 👍
Thanks for your precious comment. It helped me a lot. I don't know how old are you. But one small suggestion to include stretching and breathing exercises in your daily routine and eat more local and healthy produce everyday. Thanks once again.
As someone who struggles with procrastination and being unmotivated I feel like this could really help me. I haven’t been to the gym in weeks because I set too high of an expectation. Thanks for the advice
I agree 100% with your theory, I will start to incorporate mini habits. I started today with 3 mins. of meditation, upon completion I felt so much better, a sense of mission accomplished. I will definitely try to accommodate more good habits in small doses with the hope of increasing the doses as I go along. I trust with time I would squeeze out the bad habits and replace them with the good ones.
This is amazing..and so true..big things came from little thing we do everyday..disiplin and consistency is key to mastery in EVERYTHING. Persevere and you can achieve anything. The momentum will be yours to exploit..
Mini Habits by Stephen Guise is one of the life changing books I ever read. I learned an easy way to accomplish tasks and create habits from tasks i dreaded to start and procrastinated on for years such us filing, tidying & decluttering. Best part is that I started gardening using mini habits and now i not only get a good workout from it (i dig and plough myself), I am truly enjoying gardening and planning to start a side hustle with this new hobby. I absolutely recommend this book to anyone struggling to do something they know is important to them but keep procrastinating on.
Ohhhhh myyy goshhhh that thing you said, I always want it to be 1 hour(depend on my schedule) but I didn't make it and this...that thing you said you enlighten my mind ,I always stop when I don't get the right time and slack of next day and keep convensing myself I start again next month and end up wasting this quarantine time or to say wasting this whole year
I have been reading one page a day and I think I will finished this book sometime April 2024. Thanks 🙏 for your help, I hope I will be able to remember chapter one then.
This is so me! I usually set too long and too many goals and then fail almost immediately. At the start of January this year I set myself a very small goal - to have a cold shower every morning for 1 minute. Just 1 minute and it is now February 9th and I have not missed a day. Some days it is harder than others especially as I brush my teeth first so I then know how cold the incoming cold water is. But as it is only 1 minute, I know I can bear it. When I feel that I have embedded this as a habit (I am giving myself 90 days though it might take up to 120 days) then I hope to increase the time under the water but if I don’t it won’t matter as I know I will still do my 1 minute. By the way I feel amazing after each shower and it sets me up for the day - if I can do that i can do anything!
Besides the motion-analogy, I also like the analogy from chemistry: If you set up the activation energy, then the rest of the reaction takes place easily.
I use this approach. When I'm very busy, it is like rationing time. One of the huge benefits is that you also end up rationing things that are very enjoyable. That may sound bad, but the 30 minutes of TV at the end of the day is only good quality stuff, and the experience is all the sweeter.
I watched many videos like this on the internet and this one makes the most sense to me. It doesn't use some worn out arguments and methods that you can hear in every video and it tells you really simple what you need to do. Thanks dude
that happened to me today, is it a coincidence that i found this video?hahah i had a week of lectures to cover from university because i was bored to go this week. I said i will go to the library where they also have calculators and do only half of this course lecture ( half of 1 of the 4 courses = 1/8th hahaha.) instead i stayed for 4 hours. Conclusion. don't buy your own calculator it will keep you home and bored to open the books. 🤓
_5 minutes closer to your goal is better than 0 minuttes closer to your goal._ This message has been greeting me every time I log on to my computer for some time now. I came up with it myself for exactly the same reasons you describe in this video :)
My interpretation of this so far is that spending the time on the activity is still an investment no matter how small. I have a few books I can try this with thank you.
