At school, just before the start of summer vacation, our school’s head teacher would call us in the assembly to motivate us to keep working hard during the holidays.
He once said that if we improved just 1% each day, we’d be twice as good when we returned after the 2 month break. Those words of wisdom were pretty motivating but I’m not sure how many of those listening paid much attention while thinking about their plans during the holidays.
More recently, I came across a math equation that proves my head teacher’s point.
What if you could improve how you do something by 1% each day for 2 months? You’d be 1.8 times better.
1.01^60 = 1.82
But what if you could improve by 1% each day for a year? You’d be more than 37 times better.
1.01^365 = 37.8
That is the compounding effect of improving every day.
But if you decided to take a break?
Any rowing coach will tell you that if you are not getting faster, you’re getting slower. There’s no such thing as staying the same.
What if you were slowing your performance by 1% each day? You would lose 75% of your performance in a year.
0.99^365 = 0.025
It’s a reminder that getting just a little bit better every day has dramatic effects in relatively short periods of time.
Compounding improvement is the most powerful force in the universe.
