Want To Develop Vigilant Consistency? Go Back to 3rd Grade…

I read a lot of books on productivity… A LOT…

And the more I read and apply different techniques, the more I come to one conclusion:

It’s really not that deep.

I spend a lot of time talking about and coaching around the concept of vigilant consistency. Whether it’s in books like Find Your Focus: How to Get Yourself Undistracted, Vigilantly Consistent, and Powerfully Effective at Achieving Your Life Goals or it’s YouTube videos like 3 Keys to Being Vigilantly Consistent, the ‘secrets’ to being able to build and flex the muscle called vigilant consistency boils down, no matter what fancy name you give it, to one thing:

Live your life like you’re a third grader.

What do I mean?

In the book Atomic Habits, James Clear explains it like this:

Your identity emerges out of your habits… Your habits are how you embody your identity… When you write each day, you embody the identity of a creative person. When you train each day, you embody the identity of an athletic person. The more you repeat a behavior, the more you reinforce the identity associated with that behavior… The more evidence you have for a belief, the more strongly you will believe it.