Daily Criteria For A Good Life
Six small daily boxes — create, move, learn, connect, appreciate, contribute — that decouple a good day from outcomes
- Difficulty
- Starter
- Time to result
- ~days to results
- Steps
- 3
- Confidence
- 90%
Hussey distilled what he actually needs to feel a day mattered into six words: create, move, learn, connect, appreciate, contribute. They're deliberately vague because each can be met many ways — writing for 45 minutes ticks 'create' whether or not it advances a book; a hike or jiu-jitsu ticks 'move'; calling his mum ticks 'connect'; helping one person ticks 'contribute'. None depends on how big the book deal is or how many people watched a video. When stress convinces him that external metrics are what matter, he steps out of that game and strips life back to these basics — which reveals that almost all his stress is self-imposed.
Origin
Hussey built the list as his personal formula for happiness, so his head could hit the pillow feeling the day was good regardless of external results.
Core principles
- 01Define a good day by controllable inputs, not external outcomes.
- 02Keep criteria broad so each has many ways to be met.
- 03Diminishing returns — an hour or two on each is enough, not six.
- 04An unhappy stretch is just too many days missing the criteria.
How to run it
- 1
Distil your criteria
Name the handful of things that, if done, make you feel the day mattered — Hussey's are create, move, learn, connect, appreciate, contribute.
Pro tip Keep them broad enough to satisfy in multiple ways.
- 2
Tick them daily, lightly
Hit each with a small action (write 500 words, an hour of jiu-jitsu, a call to a sibling, help one person).
Watch out Don't over-invest — there are diminishing returns beyond an hour or two.
- 3
Return here when stressed
When external metrics start dominating, step out of that game and strip life back to the criteria.
Pro tip This reveals how much of your stress is self-imposed.
In the wild
Hussey is writing a book, but even if he weren't, sitting to write for 45 minutes still ticks his 'create' box — the criterion is met regardless of the outcome.
→ His sense of a good day is independent of book sales or view counts.
Common mistakes
Letting outcomes define the day
Tying a good day to external metrics you don't control (sales, views) hands your happiness to things outside you and manufactures needless stress.
Is it for you?
Best for
High achievers whose mood is hostage to external results.
Not ideal for
People who need outcome-based accountability to make external progress.
From the transcript
“create move learn connect appreciate and contribute”
From the episode
Matthew Hussey: The Secret To Building A Perfect Relationship
Matthew Hussey