The Value of Incremental Improvement
I am a big proponent of incremental improvement. In my view, it is a valuable way to approach goals, difficult tasks, and daily life. Incremental improvement implies that we aim to improve by 1% each day. James Clear, author or Atomic Habits, has a blog post that describes the importance of incremental improvements, which you can access here.
Incremental improvement is valuable for several reasons.
First, it allows us to track our accomplishments better than other approaches. We can see ourselves improve incrementally, and we can celebrate this small achievement every day. We need not put too much pressure on ourselves because we can attain this goal somewhat easily.
Second, an emphasis on incremental improvement shifts our point of comparison from others to ourselves. Everyone compares themselves to others. These comparisons often generate negative feelings: inadequacy, insecurity, sadness, and more. Aiming for a 1% daily improvement re-orients our comparisons, and endows them with a more positive valence. The only important question becomes: am I a bit better today than I was yesterday? If so, we have achieved the daily mission. We can improve significantly over time. And we can stay focused on a bigger goal without losing hope, becoming overwhelmed, or being crushed by self-doubt.
Third, focusing on incremental improvement shifts our mindset from fixed to growth. We may set difficult concrete goals and feel disappointed when we do not attain them. We may believe that this failure embodies who we are, and that we are failures rather than we failed at a task. Although I will speak more about the value of failure in another blog post, a commitment towards incremental improvement requires us to adopt a more positive and growth-oriented mindset. Since our main goal is to improve by 1% daily, we see failures and setbacks as what they truly are: temporary obstacles that will make us better in the long-term. We can see others’ feedback and good faith criticisms as valuable insights to help us improve, rather than as personal attacks. And we can both fail and succeed at something. Although we face an obstacle or failure, we still succeed when we have improved by 1% compared to the previous day. The upshot: despite a setback, we are confident that we can reach the goal once we have improved a bit more.
My sense is that a commitment to incremental improvement is particularly valuable for law students. Law school is a major adjustment. Many first-year students struggle when they receive grades that are lower than what they expected, or were below that to which they were accustomed. Some find setbacks and obstacles particularly difficult, especially when they compare themselves to others.
Focusing on incremental improvement is especially valuable during such periods of adjustment, and when we embark on new tasks. We slowly realize that many things are skills-based and not a matter of our natural abilities. We can slowly learn the skills to succeed, improve ourselves, and stay focused and positive (even when we lapse).
We can improve by 1% each and every day.
Note: All views expressed in this blog are my own. These views do not represent — and are not endorsed by — any academic institution.
