The 1% Rule That Helps Executive Assistants Work Smarter

What Is the 1% Better Rule?

The 1% rule, a concept from James Clear’s Atomic Habits, says that if you improve just 1% every day, you will be 37 times better by the end of the year. Time magnifies whatever you feed it, for better or worse. For executive assistants navigating a new year, this reframes the pressure of a new year overhaul into something more practical: small, incremental shifts that actually fit real life.

Where Did This Idea Come From?

I heard James Clear explain this concept on The Diary of a CEO with Steven Bartlett, and I have thought about it every day since. It pulled me away from any temptation toward a full new year reset and grounded me in something more sustainable: not to optimize my entire existence, but to create a little more margin in the day.

What Does 1% Better Look Like at Work?

For me, working 1% better has looked like front-loading decisions. For meetings that run on a regular cadence, weekly, monthly, or quarterly, I batch the prep work required instead of repeating the same tasks at multiple points throughout the year. Catering gets scheduled early. Agendas get outlined in advance. Decks get templated once and reused. The work happens in one focused window, so it does not steal time later when things inevitably get busy.

Why Do Assistants Struggle to Build In This Kind of Margin?

It is rarely a motivation problem. It is a universal truth of the role: something will always go sideways, usually during the busiest week. Batching future work while today is still calm is the way to protect yourself from that pattern, not by controlling chaos, but by refusing to let it dictate every decision.

How Do You Know What to Batch First?

Look ahead at what you already know is coming: standing meetings, recurring events, repeat deliverables. Ask yourself what you can decide, schedule, or outline once instead of ten separate times. That 1% shift will not feel dramatic in the moment, but future you will feel it, especially during the weeks that try to derail everything.

Does It Matter When You Do the Work, Not Just How?

Yes. One of the simplest ways to operate 1% better is to know your own rhythm. My brain works best in the morning, so that is when I write, draft, brainstorm, and make fast, clear decisions. The afternoon is a better window for me to push through expenses, clean up my inbox, and handle execution work that does not require heavy decision energy. The point is not finding when everyone is at their best. It is finding when you are.

Once you notice where your focus naturally peaks and wanes, you can match the right category of work to the time that supports it. You will work faster, think clearer, and make fewer unnecessary re-edits along the way.

What Is the Takeaway for Executive Assistants Starting a New Year?

You do not need a full reset to make meaningful progress. A 1% shift, batching work before it becomes urgent and matching tasks to your natural rhythm, compounds quietly over time. That is what a smart starting point actually looks like. If you want a framework for building this kind of operational clarity into your role, that is exactly what we teach inside Operate: The EA Playbook.