The Calibration Method has made it a lot easier for me to do the valuable things I want to do, and do them more consistently than with any other productivity plan I’ve attempted.

One key feature of the Calibration Method is to think about your longest-term goals, but get there by a series of day-to-day decisions. You decide what kind of person you want to become in the long run, but only plan the steps that you need to take today to move closer to that target.

Previously, I had a swarm of personal projects I wanted to tackle, and was overwhelmed by the constant, nagging feeling that I wasn’t choosing to do the best thing. When I was writing my novel, I wondered if I should practice computer programming instead. And when I was practicing computer programming, I couldn’t shake the feeling that I should get out my sketchpad and practice drawing. But if I took out my sketchpad, I felt like I really ought to be writing my book. Usually, I’d just shut down and play a mindless video game instead, despite the accompanying feeling that I should be doing anything else!

I still have a long list of personal projects I’d like to get done, but thanks to the Calibration Method, they all fit within the long-term context of a lifetime of personal growth, learning, and skill development. From that reference point, some of those projects really aren’t as important today as others are. By taking on the role of the best possible version of me each morning and building the to-do list that the best possible version of me would prepare, I instantly cut through all of that second-guessing and effortlessly prioritize my tasks!

For me, this has been the most important benefit of using the Calibration Method: my to-do list now has so much clarity that I’m emboldened to tackle it each day. My mind is at ease, knowing that I’m working on the most valuable things I can work on today. And tomorrow, I’ll do the same thing all over again — but I won’t have to tackle that until tomorrow.

I was talking with my wife about the effects I’ve noticed while using the Calibration Method. One thing that stood out to me in particular was how my approach to my to-do list has changed.

Previously, when I would attempt to revitalize my life and finally get things done, I’d prepare a list of all the important things I had to do if I was going to have any hope of improving my life. With my list in hand, that list was the only thing that mattered to me. And I worked really hard to get everything done, no matter what.

But my home life had other plans. With a full-time job, I normally work on my personal projects when I’m at home. But at home, my family has demands I need to meet as well. Help with the baby, play with the kids, do whatever seemingly random thing pops up on the “honey-do” list. And it never failed, the days that I finally psyched myself up to crush through my to-do list and change my life for the better were always the days that my wife had some sort of project that I needed to do right now. Always.

Needless to say, it was extremely frustrating. It even got to the point where I would get angry, and eventually I began to feel that my wife and my family were holding me back. Now, that’s a dangerous line of thinking! Eventually, I got to a point where I didn’t even try any more, because I knew I’d just get stopped in my tracks again by yet another diversionary project.

And that’s the beauty of the Calibration Method: with the Calibration Method, I don’t only have a list of things to do for my day, but I also have an image of the kind of person I want to be. And by following the method, it was now crystal clear to me that I want to be a Dad who is there, who plays with my kids and listens to them, and refuses to see them as an interruption. And yes, I even want to be a helpful husband that tackles the things my wife needs me to do, even if they need to be done right now.

So when I came home with a list of things that the best possible version of me needed to do today, and was psyched up to get them done, it could have been frustrating when my wife asked me to babysit our 11-month old. And in my old frame of mind, it would have been. But this time, I knew that spending time with my daughter (and helping out my wife in the process) was just as important as the things on my list. Even though my plans were sidetracked, I was still working on becoming the best possible me, which is the only real priority I have. So I played with my baby girl, and I enjoyed it, because I wasn’t stewing over all the things that I wasn’t getting done during that time.

What’s amazing is that the outcome was no different than any of the other times — I didn’t get everything done on my list that day because I no longer had the time. But I got the most important things done that day that I needed to. And more importantly, this time I realized it.

When I think about being “better,” I don’t think about being superhuman, or being everything that I’m not, but about being me — only better. I’m talking about the best possible version of me, the kind of person that wakes up in the morning, knows what he wants to do, and gets it done. And not just inconsequential things like taking out the garbage and tidying my office, but significant, important things — the kinds of things that can change the world!

It’s intimidating at times to realize that I can be so much more, partly because I’ve fallen so low that it can seem difficult to honestly see myself living up to that standard. But the thing I often forget is that you don’t go from being an amateur to an instant professional overnight, it takes lots of dedicated training and practice. It’s only by putting in the time and effort that you become an expert in your field.

That’s the most important benefit of the Calibration Method: its goal is to help you step up your game from being an average, amateur “you” to become an expert “you,” the best possible version of “you,” through daily training, just as an athlete or a musician improves a little bit each day. I developed the Calibration Method in response to my own ever-growing feeling that I wasn’t living up to my potential and that I could be and do so much more than I currently was. I’ll soon be 40, and so you can also chalk this up to a kind of mid-life crisis. Some guys buy sports cars, I build a personal development system. To each his own.

I’ve been using the system now for about 3 weeks, and I must say I’m quite pleased with the results. My life while using this system has definitely been going through a dramatic shift, though to an outside observer it may seem that nothing has changed. But my biggest success has been in those little moments, where I’m faced with a choice to either keep living the same sub-par life I’ve been living up to now, or make a simple choice in the moment to be better, and begin training to be the best possible version of me.

I mean moments like not taking that second helping at the dinner table, when I would normally take seconds or even thirds. Moments like using a pocket of free time to actually do push-ups, squats and sit-ups, rather than watching TV. Moments like choosing to work on productive work, rather than play video games. These are small victories in and of themselves, but I’m winning more and more of these kinds of victories with each new day, and each victory builds momentum for continuing victories. I’m happier now, I’m getting healthier, I’m more confident, and far more optimistic than I can remember being for quite some time. And that’s after only a few weeks of using this program!

So now, I’m a true believer. I think the Calibration Method is the perfect tool for anybody that finds themselves in a rut and needs a way out, especially when they begin to fear there may not be a way out! I’ll be using this site to make the Calibration Method available to you, and to share with you what I learn as I continue to implement it, like tips and tricks that can help you speed along even more quickly in shaping yourself to become the best possible version of you.