Daily Habits and Practice

As a second grader in Cockeysville, Maryland, I came home from school nursing a bruised ego the first time we took a physical fitness test. That day, I had barely managed one chin-up after watching my friends crank out four, six and more. My parents, however, were not overly concerned. Dad installed a metal bar in my bedroom door and, from then on, each time I walked through the door, in or out, I did a chin-up. By the next fitness test, I could do twelve chin-ups straight and a penny drop.

Consistent practice produces results. My life experiences in school, sports, investing, and writing support the wisdom and benefits of ‘consistency over intensity.’

Every day I write. In 2025, I wrote just under 347,000 words, or about 950 words per day. This produced, in part, 13 blog posts for my website, 14 blog posts for Forisk, 15 articles for trade journals and Forisk research publications, 49 short stories and revisions, and dozens of outlines or half-baked, incomplete ideas and essays.

My younger daughter plays competitive junior tennis. Every day, she goes to the basement and hits half-volleys off the wall for five minutes, a recommendation from Coach Jon Glover at USTA. Has this paid off in matches? Yes, yes it has.

Diligently dedicating a small amount of time, money, study, or attention over time leads to measurable progress and positive changes. Wisdom and improvement come from building regular practice, even ten minutes, into a daily routine.

Neglect and Unwanted Results

Failing to consistently practice, attend, or reinforce a skill or standard also produces results, usually undesirable and disappointing. When, as managers or parents or coaches, we accept poor behaviors, whether arriving late or acting rudely or failing to hustle, then we facilitate patterns of underperformance. If we do not clearly communicate and reinforce expectations, we permit and allow behaviors we don’t want and, even worse, we fail to encourage the performance we do want.

One of the more frustrating and agonizing themes in the news is the inconsistent, capricious application of standards, laws, and force. When masked agents of the U.S. government shoot citizens in the street, we reap the results of failing to set and maintain high expectations in so many areas. We use the mistakes of yesterday as excuses and cover for letting things slide today. This reflects low standards and poor leadership.

University of Indiana football Head Coach Curt Cignetti, during his interview with 60 Minutes, talked about inheriting a program comfortable with mediocrity. Upon taking the job, he focused on setting and reinforcing high expectations on and off the field, and then he set about doing the daily work. As a leader, he emphasizes consistency and accountability throughout the program to orient everyone in the same direction.

Math and Time

Annie Dillard wrote, “How we spend our days is, of course, how we spend our lives.” I think of this quote when reading about how we actually use our time. According to data from the CDC’s National Heath Survey, half of all teenagers in the U.S. spend four hours or more per day on screens.[1] These stats feel low to me because I live with teenagers and because, at work, I often log four hours on screens before my second cup of coffee.

Think about the mournful math of lives stuck online in a dopamine-fueled riptide of targeted social media black holes. Four to five hours per day means 30+ hours per week and 1,560 hours per year. That equates to 65+ full days, over two months per year, absent from the present. Imagine what we could accomplish by simply taking back one of those hours each day, or even 30 minutes, to read or write or practice or walk or talk to a friend or help a neighbor.

At times, I still fall into the trap of waiting for my life to begin. I think, “okay, once I get through this ‘to do’ list and after the next election, I’ll really get started.” But I long-ago accepted that my days are my life, and the opportunity exists in consistently making better choices each day.

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[1] Zablotsky B, Arockiaraj B, Haile G, Ng AE. Daily screen time among teenagers: United States, July 2021–December 2023. NCHS Data Brief, no 513. Hyattsville, MD: National Center for Health Statistics. 2024. DOI: https://dx.doi.org/10.15620/cdc/168509.