I am still recovering from my failed root canal (and still have one visit to complete the procedure), so I have been hesitant in taking up my regular exercise again because I don’t want to distract my immune system from my tooth’s healing. So when I went to the gym today for the first time in weeks I tried to do only the bare minimum required – also known as the minimum effective dose. It may come as a surprise how little time we truly need at the gym to gain strength and muscle. I think it is all about sending our bodies the right signals. With the body it is almost always use it or lose it. So even though we are stressing our bodies for merely a short while, we are still sending a signal that our muscles are still needed.
I find the concept of the minimum effective dose fascinating. It can be applied to many areas in life, especially when it comes to learning. There are many people who tend to believe that it is all or nothing when it comes to practising things. It is either we commit hours to something, or else it is better to not start at all.
Nobody says we have to be good at everything we do. We can just seek a little improvement continuously moment by moment versus nothing at all. The Japanese call it kaizen. There was a time when I was very busy with work so I could only read 8 minutes a day, but 8 minutes a day adds up to 240 minutes a month which is enough to finish 1-2 books. That is 12-24 books a year, which is tremendously better than 0. These days even if I can only read 5 minutes before bed, I do it anyway.
I am actually one of those all or nothing people, that is why I tend to burn out on every thing I try to do. I had to go through so many years of repeated burn outs and bad health to barely learn how to do things moderately. I am still bad at it. But I remind myself, kaizen.
This year I bought a hobonichi techo in an attempt to maintain a visual journal. I try to make an ugly sketch every day. But some days I miss it, but I try to make up for it. So far I have been completed all 31 days of January:
right: my elevated heart rate in the mornings during my infection
I am not actively trying to improve my drawing. I just thought it would be meaningful to have a visual record of my year. It takes just 5 minutes or less – the minimum effective dose for me to maintain a drawing practice.
This is similar to how I finally learnt to exercise after trying for decades without success. I kept trying to do something out of my own league – obviously I didn’t know myself very well. I tried going to the gym, tried running before I even walked. It turns out all I needed was to do the minimum – walking for 15 minutes. Learning anything requires a positive feedback loop, and in order to create one, we have to know where is our threshold before it feels too exhausting.
In a world like this, every day life can be exhausting. I have spent countless days languishing because everything just seems too difficult to start and do. But instead of trying to optimise or maximise everything, what if I do the minimum for all the things I wish to do instead?
I think it can be powerful to remind ourselves how small amounts can really add up and compound over time, versus feeling the futility that comes with trying to do something really daunting.
Not every blog post has to be a philosophical essay. I can write small things, draw small things, exercise in small doses. What are the minimum effective doses for me to lead a fulfilling enough life?