In a world of hustle culture, it is easier than ever to buy into the inconsistent grandiose efforts. It's easy to get seduced by intensity.

These are the efforts that do not show up every day, but when they do show up they have lots of effort behind them.

The massive work sprint. The massive system overhaul. Hustle culture rewards these moments because they look impressive from the outside. And this is coming from someone who preaches hard work to everyone I know.

If this is what actually worked, I would say to strap up your boots and get to work. But it just doesn't.

Here's what actually moves the needle: showing up at 80% every day beats showing up at 100% twice a month.

Consistently good > occasionally great

The alternative is boring. It's fixing a few properties a week It's reviewing or correcting one workflow every Friday. It's doing 30 minutes of a course to up-skill every week. None of that sounds exciting, but after six months you've got a clean and reliable system along with an individual who is now more capable.

This applies beyond just ops. In fitness, the person who lifts four days a week at moderate effort and eats a relatively clean diet will outperform the person who goes all-out for three weeks, restricts themselves to the max and then disappears for two months. It is simply a game of longevity. Who can show up consistently over time.

The takeaway

Stop chasing intensity. Start building a system you can sustain. The people who win in the long haul aren't the ones with the most heroic and dramatic efforts. They're the ones who showed up on a random Tuesday when it wasn't exciting, did the work anyway, and did it again on Wednesday.

Being consistently good should be the goal.

-CJM