The best things to do every day are simply just three things[1]. One which you are excellent at, one in which you are pretty okayish, and the final one being something you totally suck at. They don’t take precedence over each other and it is a better idea to do them with reasonable time devoted. The rationale behind this is simple:
Maintaining proficiency is as useful as earning it. Mastery of any constructive and efficacious activity is a powerful motivator that reminds oneself that there are things which you can do well. It helps in keeping a person psychologically stable by avoiding pits of stinging despair brought upon by constant failure [2].
If there was something I had to pick to be the most important one, then do the one thing you are okayish at. Comparatively speaking, there is little scope for improving stuff upon which you have finesse over, and there is little scope for winning where one lacks sufficient skill and effort to do said thing. When you are somewhere at the centre, there are plenty of opportunities to be better, yet infinite ways to regress. It is a precarious condition; you have the ability to improve dramatically since you already have covered some basics [3]. However, there is still advanced stuff that you need to do in that particular aspect but probably won't since gratuitously resting on your unmerited laurels is always appealing.
Finally, do the one thing you suck to realize that there are still areas where you lack horribly and need drastic improvement. It keeps one humble and challenged while also mitigating the most damaging aspects of a person. As one gets older, the beginner mindset erodes, and it is imperative to keep it up and going, for it houses many gratifying surprises [4]. Bottlenecks need to be tended towards because often they are the primary cause of problems that plague an individual. The quicker you attend to what is exigent, the better.
The most significant part of doing these three things is that they keep three ignoble aspects away from a person:
Discouragement, by doing something you are good at.
Complacency, by engaging in something you are okayish at.
Pride, by attempting something you suck at.
The above three aspects are heavily related towards inevitable procrastination of the worst kind. It is of utmost importance to keep them at bay, and conscious action is the most coherent way to do so.
Another thing to note is that for the three things to do everyday (something you are good at, something you are at okayish at and something you are terrible at), they can be more effectively used if there is unifying theme. Say for e.g. Health, one can do these three things
Good at - Exercising
Okayish at - Cooking
Terrible at - Maintaining a diet
Working on these specific things in a cohesive manner leads to better results as compared to having a mishmash of things, although it’s fine if the tasks are not related.
• [1] Although this isn't supposed to be some hack life advice, it somehow came out to be, which was inevitable in hindsight. They are for my personal gain, although I guess they may be beneficial for others as well.
• [2] A typical example would be maintaining fitness while you are fit by continuing to exercise and diet properly.
• [3] For many, social skills are things that fall inside this category. One may be good at making friends but not keeping them, and this is where one may feel that there is no need to improve upon since they can make friends easily, and it is folly.
• [4] Paradoxically, the more you know, the more you know how much more you don't know. And that's perfectly alright. In fact, it's remarkable and extraordinary.
We should begin as we mean to go on and we begin by simply doing. Your approach is very well put and useful! Will definitely incorporate. GGs
A nice perspective.
Hopefully I can use it to tackle my procrastination.