The Importance Of Non-Zero Days
Baby steps of forward momentum.
The first time I remember hearing about this concept was 6 or 7 years ago on my trip to Asia. I can picture exactly where I was.
I was about halfway through my trip, on my first visa run from Thailand to the Malaysian border. A common practice for many backpackers in Thailand. A rite of passage.
It is a short concept this week so indulge me with a bit of a tangent, I promise there is a bonus lesson.
Keep in mind that all of this was “necessary” due to entry and exit requirements for typical Thai visas. Because this was normal, both the hostel staff and other backpackers ran me through the plan… (cue the Victor takes a trip montage from Rules of Attraction)
Get a bus to Hat Yai. Take a smaller transfer to Georgetown, Malaysia across the border. Meet up with a guy who runs a pharmacy and has a connection with the Thai embassy in Georgetown. Leave your passport and $100 USD with him. Come back in 3 days to collect your passport with the pre-approved visa. Get on a transfer back to Hat Yai. Listen to the driver when he tells you to put ฿500 ($20) in your passport on the visa page to “smooth things out.” Arrive back in Thailand and take a bus back to the hostel.
If that sounds a little sketchy, a) you’re right and b) money can buy you pretty much anything. The amount required is just lower outside the western world.
The part that makes this a little less sketchy is that I have 2 passports. So if everything really went to shit I could get home on my American passport.
The bonus lesson here is that defaulting to trusting people makes life a lot easier. There is a 100% chance this will blow up in your face at some point, but in aggregate you’re likely to come out ahead.
Okay, back to “No Zero Days.”
I was in a bit of a funk and felt like I wasn’t making progress. I was sitting in a bottom bunk in a random Georgetown hostel with my bunk curtain drawn. Probably snacking on a can of Pringles or some Pocky.
I found a Reddit comment from u/ryans01 in r/getdisciplined. The concept was simple and actionable.
Rule numero uno - There are no more zero days. What's a zero day? A zero day is when you don't do a single fucking thing towards whatever dream or goal or want or whatever that you got going on. No more zeros. I'm not saying you gotta bust an essay out everyday, that's not the point. The point I'm trying to make is that you have to make yourself, promise yourself, that the new SYSTEM you live in is a NON-ZERO system. Didnt' do anything all fucking day and it's 11:58 PM? Write one sentence. One pushup. Read one page of that chapter. One. Because one is non zero.
This idea has been further popularized in many books on habits over the last decade. Make the habit so small you can’t say no.
The Takeaway:
The concept of No Zero Days is the quickest way I know to break yourself out of a rut. From the chronically depressed to the “just had an off week.”