Have you read Atomic Habits by James Clear? If you have, you’ll understand what and where I’m coming from in this post. I read it earlier this year and it really helped me understand how to create good habits for myself, for work and for my teenage son. I’ll tell you a little bit more about the one percent better every day concept later in the article.

First, I’d like to talk about our new CSR initiative and charity collaboration. We’ve worked in the corporate communication field for many years, and consequently have helped many clients with their CSR report design. Over the past couple of years, I felt that az.design should perhaps have it’s own CSR initiative, even though we’re a pretty small business. But every little helps right? Even if it’s just 1%.

az.design & our new CSR initiative

So, when I came across the charity, FeedLondon during a networking meeting, I decided I wanted to get involved in some way. It’s an amazing charity that helps feed children living in poverty in my home city – London. I decided to take the concept of 1% better every day and translating that into donating 1% of our operating profits to FeedLondon.org.

Feed London Charity

FeedLondon steps in when families reach crisis point. They deliver nutritious food boxes at the start of the school holidays. It helps fill the gap.

Over a third of London’s children are living in poverty – that’s over 700,000 children – as many as Scotland and Wales combined.

COVID-19 has devastated their lives – during the last lockdown 35% missed at least one meal per day and went three days without eating any fresh vegetables or fruit. 400,000 face hunger over the holidays.

 

Feed London Summer stats

Other summer 2021 stats

No recourse to public funds*: 36 (34%)

Single parents: 83 (71%)

Families with serious illness: 58 (50%)

Families in inadequate accommodation: 63 (54%)

Families struggling with depression: 34 (29%)

Families with autism: 18 (15%)

Families fleeing violence: 26 (22%)

Families fleeing threat of FGM: 20 (17%)

Halal: 83 (71%)

FeedLondon-what's in the box?

What’s in the box?

  • Enough fresh ingredients to make 7+ main meals
  • Vegan recipes for every meal
  • Toucan boxes – creative activities for every child
  • £75 supermarket voucher for qualifying families (80 families)
  • Bathroom and hygiene boxes – shampoo, hairbrush, washing powder etc.
  • Lots of treats etc….

 

So why did we donate 1% of our operating profit? Because habits are the compound interest of self-improvement.

So, as promised, back to Atomic Habits and the 1% better every day theory. Here’s the key extract from the book regarding how 1% every day has compound effect. I highly recommend reading the book in full however and have linked to it above.

It is so easy to overestimate the importance of one defining moment and underestimate the value of making small improvements daily. Too often, we convince ourself that massive success requires massive action.

Meanwhile, improving by 1% isn’t particularly notable – sometimes it’s not even noticeable – but it can be far more meaningful, especially in the long run. The difference a tiny improvement can make over time is astounding. Here’s how the maths works out: if you get one percent better each day for one year, you’ll end up thirty-seven times better by the time you’re done. Conversely, if you get one percent worse each day for one year, you’ll decline nearly down to zero.

This chart show’s the difference in a visual way…

1% better every day

Habits are the compound interest of self-improvement. The same way your money multiplies through compound interest, the effects of your habits multiply as you repeat them. They seem to make little difference on any given day and yet the impact they deliver over the months and years can be enormous. It’s only when looking back two, five or perhaps ten years later that the value of good habits and the cots of bad ones becomes strikingly apparent.

….

So, what 1% will you do every day to make a difference?