#033: Don’t give it 100%, give it 1%

Why committing to 1% will improve your wellbeing more than giving it your all.

I love this time of year in Canberra, the days are still warm but the nights are cool. The leaves are starting to turn. And there is a crispness everywhere. April also feels like we are firmly into the rhythm of the year. The school/work/life tempo has found a natural pace and everyone in my house has settled into 2025.

I also love April this year, because I will be spending the first half of the month in Japan on a meditation and creativity retreat (but more on that next month) – hello from Kyoto!

I have been reflecting on my word of the year (mastery) and wondering how everyone else is doing with theirs – or the resolutions that you jotted down for 2025. I feel like I still haven’t mastered my daily rhythm of things I might do to improve my wellbeing. I have made time and space for exercise, but other activities have taken a back seat.

If you haven’t managed to stick to all of your goals or have forgotten what your word of the year is, you are not alone!

It made me think that we are often always so black and white with our approach to wellbeing (or most things in life). If we decide we want to go to the gym every day and then miss a week, well then we might as well not bother because we failed to be consistent. Or if you started to meditate every day and then skipped a few sessions - now you wonder how you will ever get the motivation to pick it up again. 100% or nothing.

But what if we just aimed for a rock solid commitment to devoting 1% of our day to our wellbeing? Sounds ridiculous and like it couldn’t possible make a difference. But hear me out.

There are 1140 minutes in every 24 hours. If you subtract the optimal 8 hours of sleep (a goal I am forever working towards!), you are left with 960 minutes a day to divvy up between life and work activities. 1% of this is just under 10 minutes.

How many times do we set out to do something but feel like we don’t have enough time? What you find easy to prioritise (or don’t) is different for everyone. We all choose to spend our time differently.

For me, I sometimes don’t feel like I have enough time to meditate, connect with friends (either in person or on the phone), cook or garden. So these things can feel a bit tight and rushed – or like you have to make up all the time on the weekend to fit it all in. All or nothing.

I have a couple of very dear friends who don’t live close by, so we often chat on the phone. But if we don’t do it regularly I feel like we have to make up for lost time (I don’t know if my friends feel the same way!) – so sometimes I put off a catch-up even more, because it is hard to carve out 45 mins or an hour that is inevitably essential to having a ‘proper’ chat.

Or because I look out at the garden and see an overgrown mess. It seems like such a big job that I just go back inside and think ‘next weekend!’.

But a better way to approach things we want to do – and that we know will feel good and improve our wellbeing, - is to make a commitment to spend 1% of our day. Tiny really.

Who doesn’t have 10 minutes a day?

If you aren’t reading this on your phone, pick up your phone right now.

If you have an iPhone, swipe right and see how many minutes you have been on your phone for today (android users – I am sure there is an easy way to do this!). It’s almost noon on Sunday as I am typing this, and I am up to 49 minutes. I have no idea what I have spent those 49 minutes doing though.

So when I think I don’t have 10 minutes to meditate, or to go for a walk, or to pull a few weeds in the garden (or insert any activity you would like to be doing but think you don’t have time for) – think about how much time we spend/waste staring at a tiny screen. It makes it a bit easier to find that 10 minutes to boost your wellbeing.

So why only 1% - why not more?

Making small, incremental improvements daily can lead to significant positive change over time –improving physical, mental, and emotional aspects of wellbeing. And seeing progress from consistently working at something can help to motivate us to keep going.

Setting a goal to work at something for 10 minutes a day – or developing a micro-habit – helps to build momentum meaning you are much more likely to stick to it.

So this month, I am committing 1% of my time to my wellbeing. Often it will be more, but 1% is the bare minimum.

Who wants to do the 1% experiment with me?

Not sure where to start? Here are a couple of ideas:

Physical health – spend 10 minutes

· walking or running

· stretching or yoga

· weight-based exercises – like squats, push-ups, lunges

Mental health – spend 10 minutes

· meditation

· pranayama (or breathing practices)

· reading

· writing

· gardening

· cooking

· learning a language

· painting or drawing

· sitting in the garden and drinking tea every morning

The possibilities are endless really. If you close your eyes and think of something you would really like to make a part of your daily rhythm, an activity will spring to mind. Choose something that would really bring you joy, rather than something you think you should be doing.

It might be tempting to pick more than one thing – but don’t. Try to stick with only one activity for an entire month before moving to another. Consistency is key! (and it’s the 1% challenge, not the 2% or 5% challenge…)

I am going to commit 1% of my day to meditating. My practice has dropped off a little bit in the last month – I was sick, and then had a bit of work travel, so was all out of whack. 1% a day is just the reframe I need to get back on track (my next 1%-er will be a 10 minute phone call with my friend Jane once a week – I know she will be into making this a 1%-er too!!)

Let me know in the comments whether building a wellbeing habit, 1% at a time resonates with you – and what are you committing 1% of your day to?

Be well,

Alicia