Imagine if you improved just one percent every day. Or even if it was just one percent each week? Whether it’s enhancing your knowledge of the housing market, understanding mortgage lending, staying current on reverse mortgage regulations, or grasping the fundamentals that most financial advisors rely on—these incremental improvements could have a significant impact. 

The Math of 1% Improvement

According to the math, if you committed to improving just 1% each day, you’d be 37 times better after a year. Or more modestly, if you improved just one percent each week you would improve by 67% that year!

It’s a fascinating concept and one that deserves our attention. However, we’re not like money-earning compound interest—we’re human. Some days we make huge strides in our professional and personal growth; other days it feels like we’re taking two steps back for every step forward.

But what if we dedicated ourselves to incremental and continuous improvement? Doing so would lead to remarkable growth, which could help cushion the impact of the occasional big mistake or failure. At the very least, we’d be further along than if we had settled for the status quo. 

Where to Begin

So, where do we begin? A piece of paper is a great start. Write down what you want to improve and what resources you will need.

Here are some ideas to get you started.

• Make one more outbound sales call a day or five more calls each week.
• Generate more referrals by scheduling follow-ups to check in on new borrowers to review their first loan statement and answer questions.
• Schedule at least one face-to-face meeting with an area professional.
• Read at least one sales book every six months.
• Schedule emails to all previous clients at least 1x a month.
• Attend one business networking event each month.
• Clean up your database / CRM (Client Relationship Manager) and create lists of potential borrowers when interest rates drop, those who wanted to wait, etc.
• Email your local newspaper and offer to be a source about using housing wealth in retirement or even write a guest column. 

Putting the Pieces Together

Now set some checkpoints. Decide on dates to check your progress, and add these to your calendar along with the time blocks for the activities you’ve planned. Remember, the focus isn’t on setting goals, but on establishing consistent activities in the areas you want to improve.

Small gains build up over time. Tiny daily decisions can lead to significant outcomes. What seems insignificant today could have a major impact in the future.

Of course, there may come a point where you realize you’ve reached your peak in a particular area. But that’s still better than stagnation or, worse, regression.

If you’re committed to continual and marginal improvement over time I would highly-recommend a book I just finished.  Atomic Habits by James Clear. It’s incredibly profound yet easy to understand.

So, what if you improved just one percent each week? Who knows—but you’ll only find out if you try.