A One-Year Project: One Day at a Time

You're probably familiar with authors who pick one focus, commit to a year-long experiment, and document the journey. Gretchen Rubin spent a year researching and pursuing happiness in The Happiness Project. Julie Powell cooked her way through Julia Child's cookbook. Journalist A.J. Jacobs lived biblically for twelve months.

Inspired by that tradition, on January 1, 2021, I launched my own experiment: a year of making 5 Great Decisions every day. I envisioned December 31st as a triumphant finale — a moment to marvel at how intentional choices had transformed me into the person I'd always wanted to become. I thought maybe I'd write a book about it.

It didn't work. The experiment lasted less than two weeks.

What I discovered is that great decisions aren't made in a year. They happen one day at a time.

Fast forward to June 2025. I committed to exploring 5GD with a cohort of twelve people, and then to writing the book that became 5 Great Decisions. Throughout that year, I practiced what I was developing — not as a year-long project, but one day at a time. Some days were better than others. But I kept showing up.

Today, on June 1st, I'm thrilled to say that I have experienced a full year of making 5 Great Decisions daily. Not because I committed to 365 days — but because I committed to one day, over and over again.

Each morning I woke up and asked myself one question: where will I have a opportunity to make a great decision today? Each evening I wrote them down. That was it.

What I didn't expect was what that record would become. Looking back at the narrative in my Five Great Decisions app, I can see exactly how I shaped my future — one small, intentional choice at a time. The evidence is all there. The days I showed up. The decisions that mattered. The person I am becoming.

I couldn't do this for a year. But I could do it for a day.

And then another day.

And eventually — 365 of them.

That's how we shape our future. One day at a time.