{"id":786,"date":"2008-07-02T10:00:06","date_gmt":"2008-07-02T17:00:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.scotthyoung.com\/blog\/2008\/07\/02\/set-a-higher-baseline\/"},"modified":"2018-04-04T02:47:40","modified_gmt":"2018-04-04T09:47:40","slug":"set-a-higher-baseline","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.scotthyoung.com\/blog\/2008\/07\/02\/set-a-higher-baseline\/","title":{"rendered":"Set a Higher Baseline"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Marathon.png\"<\/a><\/p>\n

For the last several months, I\u2019ve written four articles a week for this website, plus Friday Links.\u00c2\u00a0 That\u2019s my baseline.\u00c2\u00a0 Although occasionally I\u2019ll do more, I take every step possible to ensure I don\u2019t do less.\u00c2\u00a0 Having this baseline means I occasionally miss the super-productive weeks where I could have written seven or eight articles.\u00c2\u00a0 But it also means I avoid the more common low-productivity weeks where I only write one or two.<\/p>\n

Before I created this baseline level of posting, I wrote as much as I felt I had time for.\u00c2\u00a0 Occasionally that meant an article every day.\u00c2\u00a0 More commonly, it meant only two or three.\u00c2\u00a0 Although having a baseline can seem boring, or restrictive, I\u2019ve found it is useful to avoid the low-productivity days that sabotage all of us.
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\nMarathons are a Lot of Boring Steps, Not Glamorous Sprints<\/strong><\/p>\n

A lot of things in life are like running a marathon.\u00c2\u00a0 Running at the same baseline speed, mile after mile, slowly but surely reaching your destination.\u00c2\u00a0 Having a baseline in a marathon is more important than occasionally sprinting ahead.<\/p>\n

If you\u2019re trying to get in shape, going to the gym consistently matters a lot more than having one really good workout once a month.\u00c2\u00a0 Having that fantastic workout isn\u2019t important if your baseline is staying at home.\u00c2\u00a0 When you run twenty-six miles, it doesn\u2019t matter that you sprinted the first mile if you needed to walk the next seven.<\/p>\n

Raising Your Baseline<\/strong><\/p>\n

Getting better at something once is easy.\u00c2\u00a0 Maintaining that new standard consistently is a lot more difficult.\u00c2\u00a0 It\u2019s easy to write one article.\u00c2\u00a0 It takes more focus to write articles four times a week, every week.<\/p>\n

My goal with most areas of my life is to improve my baseline.\u00c2\u00a0 Increase the default level of performance.\u00c2\u00a0 Ironically, increasing your baseline often means limiting yourself and doing less than your capable of.\u00c2\u00a0 Raising your baseline for the gym might mean doing fewer exercises and not pushing yourself as hard as you can.\u00c2\u00a0 Raising your baseline for studying means spending fewer hours at the books than you feel is possible.\u00c2\u00a0 Raising your baseline for social activities means being less outgoing and enthusiastic as you might be able to stir up.<\/p>\n

Sustainable Changes<\/strong><\/p>\n

Trying to do your best can sabotage your efforts to increase your baseline.\u00c2\u00a0 If you start a workout plan with the most intense exercise you can think of, you might be too sore to go to the gym for the entire next week.\u00c2\u00a0 If you start trying to study seven hours a day, you might burn out before you learn all the material.<\/p>\n

When consistency is important, I think it\u2019s better to do what is sustainable.\u00c2\u00a0 Do better, but only at a level you can do day after day.\u00c2\u00a0 This mean taking a smaller step up from your previous baseline than you might feel is possible.<\/p>\n

\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0 How to Improve Your Baseline<\/strong><\/p>\n

You can\u2019t raise the bar if you don\u2019t know where it is.\u00c2\u00a0 If you want to raise your baseline, you need to know what your default level of activity is.\u00c2\u00a0 Not how you perform on your best days, but the average.<\/p>\n

The only way to do this is to measure yourself over a period of time.\u00c2\u00a0 Keeping records allows you to look backwards in time and see your average performance over months and years.\u00c2\u00a0 Testing yourself for a week or less usually only tracks temporary performance.<\/p>\n

Here are just a few things I keep numbers on, so I can be clear what my baseline is:<\/p>\n