The Meta-Practice of No Zero Days

Ta eis heauton

It is good to collect principles. It is also good not to be too precious where the principles come from. Here is one from a legendary Reddit poster ryans01: 

“There are no more zero days. What’s a zero day? A zero day is when you don’t do a single fucking thing towards whatever dream or goal or want or whatever that you got going on. No more zeros.” 

Zero days are discouraging, especially when there is a sense that today is a day when life can be made better, more beautiful, or at least more interesting. It is foolish to think a life rehaul will happen within a day; it is also foolish to get captured by endless distractions.

Put down your damn phone.

Stop zombie scrolling on Twitter. 

Look away from those culture war demons. 

I apply the “no zero days” to my ecology of practices, the practices I am consciously focused on. I take no days off from this meta-practice. It is the little practices that add up to real change. A video demonstrating the zero days approach is a simple animation called The Choice: 

The meta-practice of having no zero days with one’s ecology of practices is a game changer. The path to expanding consciousness is the practice of being aware of all one’s practices, having a way of tracking them, and the ability to adjust when needed. I am always practicing something; the more choice I exercise with my practices, the more consciousness my life has. However, this meta-practice requires a certain level of intensity. 

The German philosopher Peter Sloterdijk suggests that true philosophers are “athletes of life,” which is the correct disposition for this meta-practice. An athlete practices to win a finite game; the athlete of life engages in what Integral philosopher Ken Wilber calls “life practices” - practices in service of life - to play the infinite game of life. The athlete's intensity allows for the no zero days disposition; no momentum and transformation will occur without it. 

It is never too late to become an athlete of life; one can start now, despite whatever momentum is working against them. As The Choice animation shows, little choices go a long way, hence if a zero day is on the horizon, do what ryans01 suggests:

“Didn’t do anything all fucking day, and it’s 11:58 PM? Write one sentence. One pushup. Read one page of that chapter. One. Because one is non-zero. You feel me?”

To learn more about the philosophical foundation for the meta-practice of no zero days and a concrete way to start practicing it now with others, read the “Monasticization of Daily Life” entry. 

Also, this is the second last week of public events at The Stoa. The spirit of The Stoa will continue to live on here at Less Foolish. In July, philosophical experiments will begin; one’s that risk us being foolish to become less so. You can access them by becoming a paid subscriber here. The experiments that stick will become regular practices in my ecology of practices. One such practice is Collective Journalling, which I believe is a “generator practice” that ripples out consciousness for other practices. You can read about the practice below and sign up for the session on the other side of the paywall.

Collective Journalling is a communal practice that started in May 2021 during Rebel Wisdom’s Becoming a Live Player course, continued to live on at The Stoa, and will now live with Less Foolish. The sessions happen via Zoom and are 90 mins, with check-ins in chat at the beginning and an opportunity to connect with fellow journalers in breakout rooms at the end. The practice has drop-in vibes; you can come and go as you please. You do not have to stay the whole time; if you are in an antisocial mood, you do not have to interact with anyone, yet still enjoy the coffee shop-esque communal vibe. The session concludes with an optional sharing of a passage in the chat. Most of the time is spent in silence together, individually inquiring about what matters most. A lovely group of people has formed around this practice.