Eliminate Zero Days to Become More Productive in the Long Run
Productivity hacks often involve making complex to-do lists every morning and finding a way to engage in “deep work” for extended periods during the day. Yes, those hard lifts are important, but finding a way to make small, gradual progress is just as rewarding if that’s what you’re comfortable with. To achieve your long-term goals, consider adopting a “no zero days” mentality.
What are zero days?
Zero days are any days when you don’t accomplish anything towards your goal. This means that non-zero days are any days where you achieve something, even if it’s small. The idea of working a little each day isn’t exactly new, but the concept of “zero days” comes from a decade-old Reddit post that started a small movement online .
In the original post, the author says that even if you don’t do anything all day , when you have an essay to write in the future, writing one sentence at 11:58 pm counts as missing day zero. By recognizing that any work, no matter how small in relation to the overall project, is important and meaningful, you can be more motivated and move towards greater achievements step by step without allowing yourself to become overwhelmed.
How to avoid having zero days
The first step to eliminating zero days is simply making that commitment. If you find it difficult to complete a bunch of tasks throughout the day, this may be the solution for you, as long as you set long-term goals. Doing small tasks also contributes to a non-zero day, of course, but this method is especially useful if you have something important to do and are dreading it. Cutting it off will make everything manageable.
The second step is responsibility, whether to yourself or to others. On Reddit, where it all started, there’s a community called NonZeroDay , where people post small accomplishments they’ve made in a day. They write down their long and short term goals and then share what they did to achieve those goals, which is the right idea. how you will measure success and when you plan to finish.
If you don’t want to post your non-zero days, you should still track your progress. Similar to the “ don’t break the chain ” method, this will allow you to see your progress, which is also motivating. Seeing how many non-zero days you’ve worked in a row will motivate you to keep doing it. You can enter this information into your notes app, your single source of truth about your end goal, or your planner .
Overall, it’s about developing a mindset that allows you to relax about your goals, not push yourself to do everything at once, and celebrate your wins, even if they are small. If you procrastinate or are afraid to get started, this is for you.