The Mindset Behind “Stacking Days”

A friend introduced me to the principle of “stacking days” popularized by NBA player Chris Paul.

Although I hadn’t heard that term previously, the concept itself is one that I already teach and practice. It’s the philosophy that has guided me to over 11 years of daily workouts, a daily meditation practice for over a decade, and publishing a daily blog for over 7 years.

In the context of sports and physical training, the idea is that you might have “good days” or “bad days,” days when you feel better and days when you feel worse. But none of that matters.

Remove the labels and they are all just “days.” And that’s the point.

When we let go of expectations for “improvement,” we can celebrate the fact of showing up — and that’s the pre-requisite for progress.

Beyond Physical Training

This isn’t a principle that applies only to workouts and sports; it applies to any area of life: relationships, marketing, skill building, writing, creative work.

Marketer Seth Godin talks about the same concept under the language of “practice.”

A Contrast to Constant Improvement

Some people might associate the concept of “stacking days” with the concept of “1 percent better every day,” but they are different.

I find the mindset of “stacking days” to be more helpful to sustaining momentum and motivation, because it isn’t tied to any outcome or result.

The idea that you can improve even by 1 percent a day is a myth. Some days you have greater capacity; other days you have less capacity. Some days are harder and other days are easier. Sometimes you have more time to devote and sometimes less.

Hormone fluctuations, sleep quality, and other factors influence your capacity and performance, creating fluctuations on a day-to-day basis. Even over the long term, showing up alone won’t necessarily lead to sustainable improvement. For improvement, you also need solid technique.

But showing up is the pre-requisite to get anywhere.