Once a month, ask yourself what you’re doing now that you couldn’t do a year ago. Write it down.

Progress leaves almost no trace in memory. You adapt to each new ability within a fortnight and then it feels like something you could always do, which is why people who have improved enormously still feel stuck. Asking the question forces specifics, and specifics are the only thing that survives.

Pick a date, the first of the month or the first Sunday, and answer the question in three lines. What can I do now that I could not do last year. Keep them all in one place, and read the whole list twice a year.