True progress

Always measure your progress on your worst days.

If the performance persists even on your worst days/weeks/months, then you know the progress was real.

The thing that triggered this reflection:

Last week I wrote about how I finished early, and it was a good sign. But today, I finished late, because the task and load was harder. I spent at least an extra hour troubleshooting stuff. It’s hard to predict, because every day the tasks, the problems, the complexities of issues, change. You can’t step into the same river—day—twice. Plus it rained today so I didn’t get my exercise in, and now my back hurts. A Mercury retrograde of bad events.

It’s all peachy and fun to make nice declarations on your best days. But it’s getting through it on your worst days with the same margins that truly count.

I still got my work cut out for me.

Onwards!