The 1 rule that will unfuck a bad day (and stop you from hating yourself)
“Ugh. I did not end up doing anything productive today.”
Almost anyone who has ever tried to improve their productivity and hit their goals for the day has said this to themselves at some point during the day.
Productivity is a harsh mistress. Sometimes you are very productive, and other times, well, let’s not poke around that corner.
Productivity doesn’t have to be this uncertain.
Can you really save a bad day?
I had decided to write this article today at 8 a.m.
Guess what?
I got up at 11 a.m. (It’s a Sunday, come on.)
From then on, I have watched an episode of a group of scientists discussing a three-eyed crow who can see the future, a short of a pretty comedian making a joke around suicide by trying to cut the rope with his jawline, and a racoon copying a dancing human (don’t forget the gym reels).
By all standards, this is a very unproductive day.
Saving a bad day won’t undo all that you did during the day, but it will minimize the damage done to your momentum. It really just requires you to identify one important thing for the day that you can plausibly finish before the day ends.
Even one very small thing done right will go a long way toward keeping your momentum.
The rule to save a bad day
Once, I was playing chess with my friend, and I lost the match. In the post-match autopsy, I found that I had missed 6 ‘best moves’, which could have won me the match. This got me thinking:
“What if we are missing such best moves in daily life too?”
This gave birth to the idea that there is always a best move, no matter what your situation is.
From then on, I have applied this rule to my life, and it has forever changed the way I approach my days now.
How to apply the rule to your own life
Whenever you experience a bad day, just ask yourself:
“What is the best move that I can make that will make this day not a total waste?”
It doesn’t have to be a huge thing; it can simply be checking out a simple task on your to-do list, such as journaling or setting goals for the next day.
In essence, do that particular thing that still improves your day, even by 1%.
