Stacking Days
Stacking. Layering. Loading. Compounding.
However you view it, the long & lasting effect of continual, conscious & decisive action is powerful.
Stacking days is a phrase that keeps coming up for me recently. A lot of the time while I’m sitting in the sauna.
I think about small actions completed repeatedly over time and the impact it can have.
At the back end of 2024 I was having a pretty tough time personally for a number of reasons that are not relevant to the purpose of this entry directly, but they did spark the action that lead to the idea of stacking days.
Like we all do, I was experiencing some challenge(s) & faced some obstacle(s) I was committed to overcoming. But I was drained physically, mentally & emotionally.
Getting out of bed on time for work was hard let alone on time to work out or run.
I was at a point where I needed to decide to take some action and accept that a 20 minute walk instead of a 5km run was OK. Or a 5 minute meditation rather than 10 minutes was OK. Or one page or paragraph was better than nothing.
I had an expectation of myself to meet standards I had set when I was feeling good and hadn’t adjusted. I was beating myself up. I tend to do that.
I feel like I am a pretty resilient guy.
I’ve had some fucking tough times but eventually I bounce back and land on my feet.
As with previous instances I got to a point where enough was enough.
The pain of staying where I was, was greater than the pain of what was required to change. So I made change.
I had a think about the things that made me feel good, were beneficial for me, and things that I needed to move forward. They systemised into a daily checklist of 9 tasks:
1. Get up on time
2. Go to bed on time
3. Make healthy food choices (no alcohol)
4. Physical activity
5. Swim in the ocean
6. Meditate (breath / sauna)
7. Make money activity
8. Connect with someone I care about
9. Love who I am.
At the end of each day I answer yes or no and give myself a daily win percentage. Then at the end of the month, a monthly win percentage.
I can’t even describe the benefits and changes I have experienced through this consistent daily action.
I am yet to miss a day in 2025 and feel more accountable and in control than I have in a long time.
Just stacking days.
Compounding positive action.
Layering steps to make change.
It might seem overkill to come, but it has helped me immensely.
So I’ll keep stacking days.