Catapulting your skills and doing meaningful work takes less time than you think

Showing up is the bedrock to building skills and completing important work.

College chemistry took me to task. 

But there was a critical difference between my first and second semesters. My first term of chemistry was twice a week for three hours per class — and I struggled. 

In my second semester, classes were scheduled five days per week, at 50 minutes a session. 

My grade improved by 20% even though my capacity for chemistry remained mediocre. But the higher frequency kept me engaged more often than the previous year.

The simplest way to build a skill is to chip away on a daily basis

I’m no scientist, but my ability to learn about science took a dramatic upswing when the class required me to show up at a more frequent clip.  

Similarly, my new book, Life Between Moments: New York Stories, was not a consequence of marathon writing sessions, but rather tiny efforts spread out over the course of a year. 

In roughly 30 minutes a day, I’d sit down to write in the evenings after finishing my day job. On some days, I’d write 1,000 words. On others, I’d write 75. 

I told myself that penning even a single sentence, the act of wrestling with the work at hand, however briefly, was better than skipping a day. 

The book — which just became a #1 bestseller this week — came to fruition not because I have any talent or smarts, but because of my dedication to consistency. 

I protected those daily, 30 minute-sessions like they were sacred — and sacred they became. Like college chemistry, my writing improved at the steepest trajectory when I showed up the most frequently, regardless of the length of each session. 

What’s more, this allowed me to keep the project front of mind, rather than letting myself put it on the back-burner, even unintentionally.

In the same way it’s easier to convince yourself to do 10 pushups rather than 100, knowing I had only a small work session ahead of me helped minimize any friction or hesitation before taking action.  

Consistency is what makes up for lapses of focus or ability, and it’s what helps you stave off uncertainty. Consistency, even in mere minutes per day, can help you build a bias toward action rather than lethargy. 

And when you string together days or weeks of showing up, you give yourself too much momentum to fall off course. The snowball effect takes over, motivation takes a back seat, and only the habit of excellence remains.

All this is to say that improving your skills, completing a project, or pursuing meaningful work takes less time than you think — so long as you show up.