The Benefits of Consistency

For many activities consistency is more important than intensity.

A few examples:

1. Stretching your muscles: 5 minutes of daily stretching are much effective at keeping the body limber than doing an intense hour-long session once per week.
2. If you have a big presentation to give, a daily practice session will prepare you better than pulling an all-nighter just before the event because it gives your mind opportunities to integrate the learning each time you sleep.
3. Most relationships are built on consistently treating people well, not occasionally making heroic efforts.
4. Most maintenance procedures (oil changes, updating your anti-virus software, keeping a clear workspace or inbox) are much more beneficial when done regularly instead of waiting until the situation is dire.

Intensity often gets glorified because it's hard and grueling and sometimes glamorous.

Consistency looks boring but tends to produce results that are more reliable and sustainable and often superior. 

Consistency often gets overlooked because it doesn't appear as impressive, or it gets dismissed because it requires prioritizing important work ahead of urgent work.

If you're the kind of person that tends to rely on gallant last-minute efforts, you might ask yourself...what if you brought more consistency to your approach?