2025-04-22

A little later in the day than usual...

There is something called the Collins Score, which I heard about on Cal Newport's podcast recently (this episode). It comes from a guy called Jim Collins, who is one of those business-coach/performance guru type guys.

The idea of the score is that you rate your day on a scale of -2 to +2, where a 0 day is one where you basically languished - you didn't get much done, you scrolled news and social media, cleared a bunch of emails etc. A zero day is the kind of day you don't remember, that gives you nothing to write in your journal.

I like the narrow scale, because it seems more precise than rating the day from, say, 1-10. We all kind of know what a zero day feels like - it's not bad, it's just... Nothing.

Now the clever application of this scale, which was suggested in the podcast episode, is that while you grade the day at the end of the day, at the BEGINNING of the day you ask yourself "What could I do today to add a +1 to the score?"

It doesn't have to be a big thing, this isn't a recipe for thrill-seeking, it's just what one thing could I do to lift the day. It might be getting some good work done, or seeing or talking to a friend or family member, preparing a nice lunch... It doesn't need to be world-changing, just enough of a thing to bump the score.

I've been trying this out for the past few days and it REALLY makes a difference to my outlook in the morning, and to my conscious decision making as I move through the day.

I thought I'd pass it on.