Show up every day, put in the work, and you’ll see results.
That’s the promise of the “1 percent rule” and the premise underlying the push for consistent habits that dominates productivity culture.
The argument is that focusing on a 1% improvement each day leads to significant, compounding results over time, helping you achieve your big goals through the compounding effect of small gains.
It sounds reasonable, and there’s truth behind it. This is how money grows in a savings account.
If you’re a person who tends to look only for big achievements and discount the value of small wins, the 1 percent rule is a useful reminder that the big wins are in the little wins.
But the 1 percent rule also has its problems.
3 Problems With the 1 Percent Rule
The 1 percent rule breaks down because progress isn’t linear, humans aren’t robots, and 1 percent isn’t always measurable.
Progress sometimes requires improving technique, which might require regression.
And the 1% rule assumes that you have the same capacity every day, which isn’t true.
And in some contexts, how do you even measure 1 percent?
Progress Isn’t Linear
It’s easiest to see this in the context of fitness, because we can work with measurable inputs and outputs.
James Clear gives a scenario of adding 1 pound to your barbell every day. This assumes that every day you come into the gym able to lift one pound heavier than you lifted the day before, or do one more rep than you did the day before.
But that’s not how progression works in weightlifting.
You can get stronger by adding reps at a given weight. You might stay at a plateau at a given weight for months and then suddenly have a few sessions where you’re able to increase your load exponentially.
Or, you might even lower your weight to work on technique.
On the surface, this looks like regression. But refining your technique allows you to lift heavier, so you’ll eventually make bigger and more sustainable gains.
Humans Aren’t Robots
The 1 percent rule also assumes that our energy and capacity is constant.
This ignores the reality of the human condition — especially women.
Human beings are not robots. Our energy levels and capacity for performance is dependent on numerous factors, including sleep, stress levels, and the emotional and mental load we’re carrying.
Women’s energy levels and capacity also vary throughout the month, based on fluctuating hormone levels at the different stages of our cycles.
And once we get to the mid-life hormonal changes, those changes become less predictable.
Some days you feel strong and can successfully lift heavy loads.
Other days, you can hardly move.
Performance is inherently inconsistent.
How Do You Measure 1 Percent?
In an area such as fitness, it’s easy to track metrics. The weight on the bar, number of reps and sets, endurance, heart rate, VO2, max, etc.
But in many contexts, “one percent” is not so clearly measurable.
If you’re trying to be more attentive to your children or your clients, for example, you’ll have days that are more successful and other days that are less successful.
But how do you really measure improvement?
In fact, in that type of situation, the measurement is really subjective from the other person’s viewpoint: does your child or client perceive you as being more attentive to them?
The only measurement of whether you’re a better listener, for example, is from the perspective of the person you’re listening to.
Showing Up Is What Counts
Does this mean that you should stop aiming for improvement and abandon all hope of consistency?
No.
It means we must recognize that progress isn’t always linear and measurable in the ways that dominant systems have led us to believe they are.
It also means we need to redefine consistency, recognizing that consistent performance is a myth. Some days you have more capacity and other days you have less.
Consistency doesn’t mean you do the same thing day after day; rather, it means you show up and do what you can.
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