I vividly remember a school trip to a Catholic monastery as a kid. The Dominican monk we met could speak 12 languages, had several degrees, did daily chores like working in the garden, and still had time to follow a strict routine of prayers and study. When I asked him how he managed it all, he replied:
“We take care of the schedule, and the schedule takes care of us.”
That sentence stuck with me, and it resembles how even the smallest details, like choosing the time for your alarm clock, might be a foundation for your goals in life. But we’re usually blind to our own patterns.
When we reflect on whether we’re satisfied with our lives and circumstances, we like to fantasize and think about grandiose plans. Like: “I want to make more money”, “I’d like to learn a new language”, or “I wish I had more energy throughout the day”. But, by definition, those big plans lack specific daily micro steps that can take you there.
Instead, we could ask: What am I doing now? Which choices do I have in front of me today that could contribute to (or go against) my goals?
We can plan for the future, but pay attention to our day, just one day at a time. Each morning, the game restarts.
You can go through a few areas and reflect or research how they could affect you.
Sleep
This may be the easiest one to solve. Reflect on how much you sleep (7-9 hours seems like the perfect spot) and the quality of your rest. Even the temperature of your room is key to how well you sleep.
Distractions
No matter what you want to do, it will become challenging at some point. The passion and fuel you get when you start learning a new language or working on a new personal project will soon vanish, and once they do, distractions will welcome you with open arms.
Going through Instagram or X, browsing Reddit, or watching a new random TV show are all forms of procrastination. And what feels worse is that no matter how much you retreat to your comfy distraction, the task will always be there for you.
Food
I’m not a nutrition expert, so I cannot give you specific advice, but learn the pillars of good nutrition (macronutrients, micronutrients, and calorie intake) and find an eating style that can help you maintain good health and energy levels throughout the day.
Go to your doctor and get a blood test. You might be missing some key micronutrients that are significantly affecting your mood, well-being, and health.
Strength training
Lifting weights might have a profound impact on your life. You don’t need to compare yourself with anyone, but we should all aim to be a bit stronger each day.
Psychological “traps”
Please read the list of cognitive biases from Wikipedia, and reflect on how and where they affect you. You might be surprised how your brain can trick you.
For example, the present bias (tendency to settle for a smaller present reward rather than wait for a larger future reward), is behind procrastination because we want to avoid the immediate pain (small reward), even though we might not get the larger reward in the future.
Meditating and developing a habit of being more mindful also helps when dealing with challenges.
Relationships
Who do you talk to on a daily basis? What do you talk about? Are they positive people? Do they support you in what you want to do? Observing this can be very revealing.
Even if you observe your relationship with yourself and your own thoughts, you may notice some dark patterns that are undermining your life. Do you encourage yourself when you want to start something new? Do you think you can succeed? Do you forgive yourself when you make a mistake?
Inputs
What do you usually read about? Do you watch the news? Are you worried about the world ending tomorrow? News, or media, can sometimes be a distraction, but also a source of anxiety you might not need. There are better ways to be informed, like picking good sources that don’t focus on the drama and more on the objective facts, if that’s what you want.
Looking back at that monk’s life through this lens, I realize he wasn’t just disciplined—he had designed his days around his goals. He had a strict schedule, a good relationship with his fellow monks, bringing accountability, support, and a spiritual practice that helped him avoid some of his natural shortcomings. Even his relationship with food was intentional. Because he took care of all these small details, he could study for 10+ hours each day and still have time and energy to do other important things in his life.
We can all act on each of these areas at the lowest level possible and choose what we do each minute of each day. If we start to realize which decisions can take us where we want to go, this approach can also give meaning to our lives in a deep way. It makes each choice of the day mean something.
And here’s a final secret: all of these areas are interconnected. When we eat well, we sleep better. If we sleep better, we’ll have more energy to go to the gym, and so on. The opposite is also true: bad habits lead to more bad habits, so we’d better choose wisely.
I discovered this myself when I started going to bed a bit earlier. I could wake up before my kids and go to the gym. Because I started going to the gym again, my energy and mood improved throughout the day. Just one small change with rippling effects.
Small habits are like the roots of the big tree. While everyone admires the beautiful leaves or the giant trunk, it’s those hidden roots that sustain and feed the tree each day. Don’t underestimate them.
Pick one thing you know is going against your life goals, and fix it. Aim low; it might be something as small as stopping watching TV in the evenings so you can sleep better and wake up a bit earlier, and once it’s fixed, find another one. The path is infinite, and so is the potential for improvement.
