The ‘1% Better Each Day’ Idea in Practice
Case Study: My First Week on X
Joining X was the decision I took to spread my writing to a wider audience and network.
Eyeballs and connections.
After a week, it turns out I enjoy it. Turns out it’s a wonderland of progress and opportunity.
The story of my first week on X is a great way to outline how you can apply the 1% mantra to your goals.
The ‘1% better each day’ principle is a powerful idea. It shows us the message of ‘The Compound Effect’ by Darren Hardy or ‘Atomic Habits’ by James Clear.
‘Massive gains come from small, incremental improvements made consistently’
If we were to examine this idea…
. What exactly is 1%?
. Is this sustainable? Can’t we have bad days?
I’m going to use my beginner’s journey on X show you the right approach.
How You Grab That 1%:
1. Fill the Space — The easiest way to be 1% better is to start! You put something in place that wasn’t there before, with the minimal knowledge you have, no matter how bad. It is a step forward.
2. Levelling up — Learning a specific thing and immediately applying that knowledge. It could be a new thing to do or an improvement on your current method.
3. Refining Errors — Is the new thing you applied today perfect? Good, then do it tomorrow without the error!
My first week on X will show you how I meaningfully applied this principle and how it turned me from a complete beginner to less of a beginner (it’s been a week!).
Day 1 (January 28th)
I joined X!
If I stick to using X for productive reasons, then that’s my 1% improvement right there, right?
I sure hope so…
Besides following a few accounts, I did nothing else. Joining X was a point on my ‘get ready for a big February’ to-do list.
1%
Day 2 (January 29th)
One of my first followers noticed my barren profile and showed me the value of X.
He messaged me with encouragement.
“Hey, why haven’t you posted yet? What’s holding you back?”
He was right.
I had nothing on my profile, and now I had a tweet that amused a potential ally.
I made a second tweet with a ‘#DailyQuestion’. Kinda generic content, but it takes a second.
1%
Day 3 (January 30th)
While I was ready to play the game of ‘give-and-take’. To help others and be generous with advice, imposter syndrome loomed.
I have a brand-new account, and I’m not yet a successful freelancer with regular work incoming.
What’s more, I saw those who were both things and were offering similar kinds of advice to me.
This was great in the sense that it was good to know I shared some ideas with successful people.
Why would I parrot them if I’m not them?
I decided to express a desire to become successful based on my current ideas.
The day before was my first tweet. This was a better tweet.
I also made my first piece of content.
I went to a hotpot restaurant and recorded. This was a reactive ‘oh I can video this and show people’.
…but I did it.
Oh, I also posted my Medium article with a half-assed caption.
1%
Day 4 (January 31st)
This was the day before my February plans started. I wrote a bunch of goals.
I set some daily mins — 100 daily comments, for example.
I linked my daily Medium article in a tweet.
The account itself didn’t do much; the gains I made were behind the scenes.
Learning and planning.
1%
Day 5 (February 1st)
The big first month had started…
I also made my first ‘thread’…
Instead of recording what I saw and posting a tweet, I posted two things I saw and put them in a thread containing two tweets.
I also made 100 comments throughout the day as planned (I’ve kept to this since then).
1%
Day 6 (February 2nd)
I asked my followers a question…
I’m not yet getting any engagement on my tweets. Some people on my feed seem to be answering my questions with their tweets, but not directing it at me.
Coincidence?
To level up my content, I planned to go check out ‘Elephant Hill’ in Guilin. The plan was to capture different moments and post them in an ‘Elephant Hill’ Medium article.
Then take each of those moments with a photo or two and make a separate tweet for each. Each tweet can flesh out the story of that specific moment.
All of them can link back to the Medium article.
Well…
. I forgot to post more than one initial tweet about the trip — Schedule my tweets in advance.
. I forgot to post the Medium article in that tweet — Put the link in the tweet first as a habit.
. I made a spelling mistake in the tweet — Proofread my tweets
So, this modest reach created so many little 1% chunks I can grab in the coming days!
Still, I attempted a higher level, and I knew what to do. I missed the execution because of organization and absent-mindedness.
1%
Day 7 (February 3rd)
The night before, I went out and took another bunch of photos. The plan was the same:
. Medium article
. Break it down into smaller tweets throughout the day. Add more detail on the story that a specific tweet tells.
Results…
. Like yesterday, I made the first tweet, got distracted by other things, and didn’t add the rest of the content.
. I also forgot the Medium link again.
. But…no spelling mistakes!
Let’s call this 0.5%.
Still, I got to chat with some creators and got some good advice, which will give me a level up in the coming days!
1%
Today?
As I’m writing this paragraph, it’s tipping down with rain outside. This may affect my plans.
I’ll outline today’s plan anyway to show you how I thought I’d improve my content and get more bang for my buck.
I plan to go to three different museums in Guilin.
During these… I planned to photo and record a bunch of content.
This batch would give me days of content.
. One Medium article for each museum — three articles total.
. Tweets — Take 3 photos of interesting pieces from each museum. Tweet them with a decent amount of background on that piece and its story. Link the Medium article for that museum.
What’s more… I can package this content and schedule the tweets in advance. I’ve now figured out a way to cure my forgetfulness and maximise eyeballs.
My content acquisition and deployment are becoming more efficient. At least in comparison to the previous days.
Putting out this batch of content a day or two in advance will free up time to do what’s important.
Making connections and finding leads.
And I’m getting out and enjoying myself.
1%
Tomorrow!
Improve my DM game!
I sent some messages here and there. I should do it with the intent of gaining connections and building a circle, and not without purpose.
Also…
I found that my 100-comment-a-day grind was no fun. It was a chore, and I found myself making little effort once I lost energy. From now on, I won’t take the count, but I’ll make sure that when I get downtime, I’ll put myself all over my timeline.
The fact that I’m not doing so to fill a quota will make it more fun, and this will show in the quality of my engagement.
1%
And Beyond!
Endless growth, 1% at a time:
. Put together some clear offer letters.
. Make a ‘fuckable’ profile.
. Further improve my content creation system.
1% is easy to find!
You see how it can be a fun journey when you don’t learn all the ‘theory’ first. When you let your imperfections guide you.
I should be progressing beyond spelling mistakes and forgetting to post my article. The fact is, that is a 1% gain. Enough of these forms a wave that will push me forward in the future. They were easy to identify and apply.
Once I become more competent, then the 1% might be more impressive than remembering a tweet idea I had. Still, I’m increasing my knowledge and my ability to apply it.
The two are in sync. Hand in hand. They bounce off each other to create a feedback loop, which tells me where the other needs to go.
I’m not studying a full course to make my knowledge level 50 when my practical experience is still level 2.
An Afterthought
Writing this article has been very beneficial to me. It has allowed me to put these small changes I made on paper in a way that maps a path forward.
This might be something I continue. Not in the form of an article, but in the form of a diary.
A 1% diary…
An idea for y’all.
Take care!
