Hello everyone,

I am here once again to bless your inboxes - and this week's email could be the one you benefit the most from.

A special thanks to my grandparents, who sit together and read every issue - this one is dedicated to them.

The Two List Method: Self-Improvement made Simple. 

Considering the endless amount of advice on the internet, it can be difficult to choose what to do to improve your life.

If you Google best productivity system, you get listicles of a dozen different methods to try. If you wanted to know the best morning routine, well, then you’re in for an hours long slog through countless articles, YouTube Videos, and books promising silver bullets and magic pills.

With such an overwhelming number of options, it’s no wonder we get paralysed a bunch. A solution to the overwhelm is running experiments to see what works for you but even that can see a bit challenging at first.

So, instead here’s a dead simple strategy to clean up large parts of your life. Think of it as an 80/20 for your self-development journey.

Step One: Make a list of what works.

We all have things we know work for us. It could be going for walks, eating a good breakfast, using a Timeblock schedule, reading, creating an idea list... you get the message.

Write all of these down on a list (aim for around 10) and hold onto them for now.

(*If you can’t think of 10, write down a few things you want to experiment with.)

Step Two: Make a list of things you do that make you not like yourself.

I’ll give you an example, in 99% of the cases, you’re going to feel annoyed at yourself if you eat fast food. Your body will feel sluggish, your stomach might feel sick, and you’ll be annoyed you wasted your money on something that’s essentially poisoning you. Write that down.

Write down anything you do that makes you get disappointed / angry / upset at yourself. Think things like hitting the snooze button, not completing your to-do list, skipping a workout, etc.

You want around 10 of these as well.

Step Three: Have the best week of your life.

For the week ahead, you’re going to run an experiment (good on you, dear reader).

Put both lists somewhere you’re bound to see (your bathroom mirror, the fridge, your bedroom door, etc – or all of these places) and review them every morning and night.

You’re going to do everything on the “what works” list for 7 days. You’re going to avoid everything on the list of things that make you not like yourself for 7 days.

7 days is not a long stretch of time, so tell yourself you can go back to whatever is easier after the week is over but force yourself to just stick it out for one week (I know you can make it.)

If you want a bit more motivation, set some stakes for yourself. Put whatever amount of money you want as a daily motivator – if you fail in your tasks for the day, you have to get rid of the sum of money you set aside. Loss Aversion will pull you through in those tight moments.

Step Four: Profit

Once you make it through the week, you’ll have developed a significant amount of self-belief (and a considerable amount of momentum.)

You can decide what to keep, what to reintroduce, and what to change. If you liked the benefits of the week, commit to doing it for one more week (and keep tacking on weeks for as long as it’s helpful for you – the benefit is the short one week time span allows you to tell yourself you can just wait until the week is over.)

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Thanks for reading!

P.S. - Make sure to tell me how the week goes, and you found most helpful to remove / add.