A good life starts with a string of good days.

When I look back on the last few years of my life, I find that the periods of the most intense personal growth and productivity were concentrated into short 3–6 month bursts.

It’s really tough to string together more than several months of extreme productivity without burning out or needing a break. This is why it’s better to think of yourself as a sprinter preparing for a race than a marathon runner on a never-ending trail.

This will lead to faster results.

For me, the last few months, as chaotic as they’ve been, have had some really productive and effective periods. I’ve done a lot of work that I’m really proud of.

During periods of extreme growth (like training camps for major Jiu-Jitsu competitions), these are 12 things that I do every single day. They’re simpler than you think.

End each day with at least 10% left in your energy tank.

I used to have a terrible habit of ending my work and training days with my personal gas meter in the red.

The last few months, however, I’ve been really focused on ending my days with gas in the tank.

While this goes against everything I used to believe I knew about hard work and success, the art of not pushing myself to the max every single day has been huge for me. By leaving gas in my tank every day, I’m able to go for longer stretches of time without fatigue or burnout.

You need to cultivate the discipline to work hard, but you also need to cultivate the discipline to rest.

Read also: The one rule that will open the world for you

It’s hard to be successful (like, seriously successful) if you burn out and need a “break” every 2 months.

Set crystal clear intentions.

Most people are missing specific goals from their routines and lives.

We go to work, we go to the gym, we make sure to read and do intermittent fasting and drink water and all that other stuff, but when it comes time to work, we’re not focused. Our goals are too vague and our work is a bit mindless.

Set big goals, and then set smaller goals for each day. Then, set even smaller goals for each work session.

No one gives a crap if you have a standing desk or if you sit on a bouncy squishy ball. Specific goals are the real game when it comes to maximizing what you get done.

The more specific the goal, the more likely the follow-through.

That (and the discipline to actually follow through with your goal) is all it takes to finish something — but more on that in a bit.

Practice gratitude.

Gratitude is one of the most powerful motivators.

Wanting to be successful is cool, but people who are grateful and happy just to be doing things are actually better at dealing with adversity. People who are good at dealing with adversity are this way because they’re more focused.

If I had to speculate, I’d say that they’re more focused because they’re only in the current moment (the most important moment), and nowhere else.

Gratefulness leads to mindfulness.

Something scary.

Usually once per week on the Jiu-Jitsu mat, I do a training session where I push myself to my limit.

I train till I’m on the verge of puking.

Before the training starts, sometimes even the night before, I feel anxious. My feet and palms sweat, my mind races, and I get hyper-focused on the training.

After the session is done? I feel like I’m on top of the world. I feel like I’m in complete control of my mind.

Furthermore, I try to do something at least moderately scary everyday, like talking to a stranger or writing something vulnerable.

You don’t need to scale Everest to face your fears. You need to do something small — every day. This keeps you honest and helps you avoid complacency.

Meet your physical exercise demands.

I’m a professional athlete and I have ADHD.

I need a lot of exercise to function normally.

If I don’t meet my physical exercise needs, I am anxious, erratic, and at times, even a bit unstable. Making sure I exercise for 2 or more hours a day allows me to spend the rest of the day focusing on things that are important to my brain, like reading, writing, and relaxing.

Taking care of the body is taking care of the mind.

Nutrition is important, but in my experience exercise is eons more important for good mental health.

Writing.

I’d prefer for you to write on the internet so you can get paid for it, but that’s not the point.

Writing as an activity makes you better at pretty much every intellectual endeavor in your life, and many physical ones as well.

Writing makes you better at understanding things you read about, better at speaking, and most importantly, better at creating new solutions to longstanding problems you struggle with.

Reading is how you discover, writing is how you learn.

Reading (fiction and nonfiction).

For the last few weeks, I’ve been reading for 1–2 hours per day.

This is the first time in my life that I’ve felt like I’m reading “enough”.

That being said, I’ve been a reader for the last several years now. Reading, although a common point on lists like this one, is one of the cornerstone habits for improving your mind.

Read and write — every day. No excuses.

Having good conversations with friends.

Every day after Jiu-Jitsu practice, a handful of my friends and I pile into the sauna and start talking.

Saunas aren’t my favorite, but this is one of my favorite parts of my day.

It’s hot (like 175°+ F) and the sauna is uncomfortable, but I’m with great company. Some days, we have these deep conversations about life and happiness and philosophy, and other days we just tease each other.

Either way, my head always feels a bit lighter after good conversations with good friends.

Mindfulness.

You don’t need to sit on a cushion for 26 hours a day to be a mindful person.

However, you do need to take time out of your day to become aware of your mind.

Doing so makes you more focused, happier, and best of all, not as anxious. Mindfulness also acts as a form of “Non-Sleep Deep Rest”, which is an essential aspect of recovery.

Almost as much as sleep.

Get good sleep/rest.

Sleep is the single most important aspect of recovery.

Every time I’m struggling with my mental health, one of the biggest reasons is usually that my sleep is suffering. Bad sleep makes me more susceptible to physical injury on the mat, anxiety off it, and poor work quality when I sit down to write.

Not sleeping literally makes you die sooner.

Get your 7–9 hours for crying out loud.

Follow through.

According to Jiu-Jitsu black belt Rener Gracie, of all the only people who start training Jiu-Jitsu, only 10% get their blue belts.

Of this, only 1% make it to black belt.

These numbers might be embellished a bit, but that doesn’t change the fact that the odds of getting a black belt in Jiu-Jitsu are slim.

Likewise, in book writing, there’s a 97% failure rate. This means nearly everyone who starts a book doesn’t finish writing it.

The only way to stand out is to follow through, and following through is also how you build momentum to do more.

Read also: 8 radical solutions to finally end procastination (Highly recommended)

Being honest.

A lot of people (this is especially true in martial arts) embellish their achievements because they think that the appearance of greater achievements will give them more money/status in their community.

The truth is that in the long term, it really doesn’t.

Even if your lies do give you some short-term gratification, lying is just bad (and bad for your health). If you’re caught in a lie, it’s very difficult to rebuild your reputation.

Don’t lie. Even small lies are a gateway drug to greater ones.

Contributed by Chris Wojcik

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