Focusing on the 1% improvement per day for a long time instead of some herculean effort in some small intense burst generally yields bigger and better results in the long run. I don’t know why it took so long. I think I’ve always knew it intellectually. But in the past couple of years I think I’ve finally begun to internalized it. I read Atomic Habits a while back and it put into words that same sentiment. The constant salesmanship aside, it drove home the above point in many ways and with practical examples and advice. It’s worth a read!
The things I wish to achieve these days usually can’t be done in a single day or single “marathon” coding session. I use to be very uncomfortable leaving some step in a large project unfinished mid-thought or mid-execution. I’m personally finding it is far more important I show up again tomorrow than to push through today to try to “finish” something. The task might not be done when I want it (usually now), but I’m far more satisfied weeks/months later that it got done at all.