Small Steps, Big Change | 1 Percent Better is Enough

Progress doesn’t always look the way we expect it to. Sometimes it’s 20 minutes on an exercise bike instead of 30. And, sometimes it’s eating dinner at the table instead of the couch. Laura and Keith explore how small, intentional shifts in our daily habits compound into real, lasting change.

The episode draws from James Clear’s Atomic Habits and the concept of the aggregation of marginal gains, made famous by British cycling coach Dave Brailsford. The idea is simple: get 1% better at the things that matter most, and over 365 days, you become 37 times better than when you started. It sounds small. It is small. That’s the point.

Showing Up When It’s Hard

Laura opens the episode with a recurring dream. She’s navigating impossible stairs, carrying too many bags, always late, never quite finding privacy. It doesn’t take long to connect the dots. She’s been working through a serious hip injury, and the vulnerability of being seen limping, moving slower, needing a cane on hard days, has been weighing on her more than she first admitted.

Rather than spiraling, Laura is experimenting. She started an exercise bike routine, continued weightlifting focused on her upper body, listening to her body instead of fighting it, and redesigning her evenings. Laura is moving away from a passive habit of eating on the couch and drifting into hours of Netflix, toward intentional rest: puzzles, Masterclass lessons, reading, even learning about AI. The simple act of eating at the table instead of her usual “eating spot” unlocked a whole new evening routine.

Identity, Environment, and Doing the Thing

Keith brings the framework to the conversation — but also the honesty. Reflecting on James Clear’s reminder that “good habits make time your ally, bad habits make time your enemy,” Keith uses it to challenge himself to be patient with small progress. He nearly chose pizza the night before recording. He chose taco salad instead, and he’s down nearly 5 pounds. The result is not from a dramatic overhaul, but from one small food swap, repeated.

He zeroes in on the concept of environment design. You don’t need to fight willpower if you change what’s around you. He found his tennis racket buried under coats in the closet and actually made it to the courts. He’s been using the Focus Friend app (created by Hank Green) to put his phone down and earn little rewards for staying off it. He connects all of this to identity. The actions you take are quietly telling your brain who you are. Writers write. Tennis players play. And every time you follow through on a commitment to yourself, you build the self-trust that makes the next right choice a little easier.

Keep Showing Up

Keith and Laura are in the middle of it, making real choices, slipping up, and choosing to start again. That’s the whole point. You don’t need a perfect plan. You need a sustainable one. If this episode resonates with you, subscribe to In Residence with Keith and Laura wherever you listen to podcasts.

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