The 10% Rule
“Enjoy the little things, for one day you may look back and realize they were the big things.”
I'm going to let you in on a secret—a small one, but one that can quietly but radically transform your life. It’s simple to follow, and once you start, you won’t want to stop. Why? Because it is easy, fun, and joyful to implement and has the power to radically transform your life for the better.
The 10% Rule is the practice of continuously implementing small, incremental improvements across all personal daily routines and systems, ensuring a constant creative enhancement in comfort, efficiency, and livability. It’s about making everything in your life 10% better all the time.
The 10% Rule is something I've practiced for a very long time in secret. I don't mention it to my friends or family. I just do it; it's integrated into my mind, and I'm going to show you how to do the same. It's beautiful as it is simple, and given the state of the world, it is very timely.
Somewhere along the way, we made words like "routine" and "everyday" seem boring and unsatisfactory. We started striving for highs, new possessions, and experiences, vacations to faraway lands. Normal became something we didn't want. Routines, so we thought, are what killed marriages and made people sad. When people keep doing the same things at home, they eventually start to become bored with their lives and, as a result, get moody and anxious.
I used to be all about big excitement—non-stop travel, whirlwind adventures, and cramming my life with "peak experiences." I chased that rush like it was my job, convinced that the wilder the plan, the richer the life. I don't regret it, but I did notice that coming back home from a trip sometimes felt even better than the trip, and I wanted to find a way to make that feeling last and amplify it. I started to become homely, and it became easy for me to spend long stretches of time enjoying my peace and solitude in my lovely nest. I had been moving and traveling my whole life, and now that I had a home, I became obsessed with making it cozier, comfier, and more inspiring. That's when it hit me: the deepest joy wasn’t out there—it was hiding in plain sight. My quiet mornings with coffee, my perfectly broken-in couch, the way my bed actually felt like mine. Coming home after those chaotic trips gave me a high I couldn’t replicate abroad—that sigh-of-relief, "oh-thank-God" feeling. I wanted to keep it alive and amplify it, and that's how the 10% Rule was born.
Home: The Ultimate Upgrade
Let's start with a simple example: our bed! The simple square where we dream and turn off from the world is not just a soft mattress; it is where we spend 1/3 of our lives. Applying the 10% Rule doesn't mean you need to invest in a whole new bedroom set; it simply means we have to find ways to improve what we already have by 10% every month. Maybe you start by splurging on one fancy pillow and turn it into your primary pillow. Perhaps a few weeks later you try an organic softener when you wash and see if it makes the sheets smell better and softer to the touch. Adding a used white noise maker is something that a lot of people find soothing, and maybe bringing a small speaker to the bedroom to play relaxing music when you go to bed sets the mood like a spa. Later down the line, an essential oil burner could be a nice way to bring in aromatherapy with lavender smells. At one point you might decide that removing clutter from your bedroom is how you will improve it by 10% this month, and maybe next month someone gifts you a nice carpet that you clean up and put at the foot of your bed to give your feet a more comfortable and warm feeling before you get in bed. The possibilities are infinite and very personal, but the point is to keep improving them.
1. Example of the 10% Rule: Your bed; an exercise in layering tiny luxuries
Current State: A functional mattress with basic sheets. 10% Upgrades:
This month: Add a mattress topper (memory foam or down alternative for ~$50).
Next month: Switch to high-thread-count cotton sheets (or try linen for breathability).
Following month: Place a weighted blanket (or a cooling one for hot sleepers).
Bonus: Sprinkle lavender sachets under your pillow for subtle relaxation.
Why it works: Each layer adds sensory pleasure without overhauling your entire bed.
2. Pillow Optimization: The Silent Upgrade
Current State: One tired and flattened pillow you’ve had for years. 10% Upgrades:
This month: Invest in one high-quality pillow and turn it into your primary pillow (~$60).
Next month: Spray pillow mist (e.g., chamomile + vanilla) before bed.
Following month: Add a small bolster pillow for knee/back support.
Bonus: Silk or super-soft pillowcases.
Why it works: Better alignment + scent cues = faster sleep onset.
3. Lighting: From Harsh to Hypnotic
Current State: Overhead light or a dim bedside lamp. 10% Upgrades:
This month: Install a dimmable bulb.
Next month: Add fairy lights around the headboard for ambient glow.
Following month: Try a Himalayan salt lamp (soft light + cozy vibe).
Why it works: Gradual light transitions signal your body for rest/alertness. It will be exciting for you to see light variations in your bedroom.
4. Soundscapes: Mask the Noise
Current State: Street noise or silence that feels too empty. 10% Upgrades:
This month: Play rain sounds on your phone (free apps).
Next month: Invest in a white noise machine (~$30).
Following month: Hang a wind chime outside your window.
Bonus: Try binaural beats for deep relaxation.
Why it works: Consistent sound buffers disrupt sleep less than silence.
5. The “5-Minute Bedside Oasis”
Current State: Cluttered nightstand with phone charger. 10% Upgrades:
This month: Place a tiny vase with fresh flowers (changed weekly).
Next month: Go to the library and get a bunch of nice books so you can be inspired before bed and have something to do other than your phone.
Following month: Get a salt lamp for ambient light and a small fan to circulate air and add more white noise.
Bonus: Keep a glass of water + copper cup (for its Ayurvedic qualities).
Why it works: Visual beauty + rituals = mental calm.
6. The Floor & Textures
Current State: Bare floors or a scratchy rug. 10% Upgrades:
This month: Add a fluffy rug where your feet land in the morning.
Next month: Get hyper-comfy sandals for getting out of bed.
Why it works: Tactile pleasure grounds you before sleep.
Applying the 10% Rule to our sleeping chamber is one of the best things we can do for our mental and physical health. Improving the quality of our sleep by 10% would translate over a lifetime to roughly 9+ years of enhanced life because it's not just about how many hours you sleep but about the quality of your sleep. Calming our nervous system is an important side effect of applying the 10% Rule in our bedroom. Better sleep leads to more productivity, better moods, and energy.
Within a year, your bedroom will become a personal retreat, and you'll look forward every day to coming home to rest.
Key Philosophy of the 10% Rule:
It's not an excuse to overspend and consume. Start with free/cheap tweaks (like rearranging pillows or opening a window).
Upgrade one category per month (e.g., focus on lighting or sound).
Track how each 10% shift makes you feel—this builds awareness + gratitude. Milk every upgrade.
Example: Elevating the Shower Experience
Once I began practicing the 10% Rule, my mind became passively obsessed with finding more ways to make the little things in my life better. Some of them were free, and some of them required just a small investment. One day I realized that when you are taking a shower, cleaning your feet and legs is a little harder because you are standing, so I thought to myself, what if I just sat during a shower? And that's how I found a little stool someone was giving away that fit perfectly in my shower, so now when I take a shower I can scrub my feet with patience, massage them, and also just lie under the hot water enjoying a spa experience! I also have done other things like put small fairy lights in my shower so when I take a shower in the dark to relax, it becomes a beautiful and peaceful experience. Other 10% additions have been adding oils, scrubs, and even a back massager stick to amplify the effects of the warm water on my back. I'm constantly looking for new tips and ideas.
Example: Refining a Favorite Recipe
I love cooking, but in my kitchen, instead of always finding something new to cook, I like to repeat and apply the 10% Rule. I make a really great chicken called Papa's World Famous Chicken (I'm Papa), and it's perfectly crispy, juicy, and spicy, and my daughter loves it. Every month, I try to make it 10% better by trying new spices, changing salts like volcanic or spicy ones, marinating it in different ways, and enhancing it by making fresh, handmade tortillas, homemade guacamole, or finding the ultimate natural drink to go with the meal. The nice thing about this is that it's easy to implement because I'm not doing something new and from scratch. On the contrary, I know the recipe by heart, so I just find slight, constant tweaks that make it exciting to prepare and consume!
Example: Enhancing a Yoga Practice
Yoga is an important part of my daily routine— I like to apply the 10% Rule by doing small things like burning different kinds of incense, putting out candles and magic crystals, adding meditation sessions to my Savasana, or having a glass of wine. Other times, I’ll gift myself a specialty online class to reignite inspiration and push myself further. None of it costs much (or anything at all), but here’s the secret: the more love I pour into these small rituals, the richer my connection with Yoga grows. What was once just a routine now feels like a sacred conversation—with my body, my breath, and the quiet joy of showing up for myself.
Example: Improving the Workspace
Like most, I have to spend lots of hours behind the computer working on my businesses and personal projects. In my office, I have applied the 10% Rule by giving myself foot baths with salt while I work under the desk, using a small vaporizer with essential oils next to the monitor, using pleasant lights, investing in back support cushions for posture, and planting small cutouts from other plants in my house around the desk to symbolize new growth and prosperity.
The Financial Philosophy: Smart Upgrades, Not Overspending
Spending on stuff is allowed when applying the 10% Rule, but it is not a license to shop. A lot of the things that we need to improve our daily habits can come from a swap shop, a friend's unused belongings, or by repurposing things we have around the house. It's important to not overspend because an important ingredient of the rule is not to stress our bodies by adding unnecessary financial expenditure. It would be easy to spend a lot of money to improve an aspect of our life 200% in one day, like renovating our entire bedroom from top to bottom, but the high you get out of that new room will likely fade in a few weeks, whereas if you do it gradually, you'll keep getting excited because you get to make small improvements all the time, and you get to focus on one improvement at a time. If it's free or almost free, it will actually add more points to our well-being and state of mind than if it was purchased because we'll be improving our life without endangering our financial stability. An important angle of the 10% Rule is that we can get a high out of life by staying at home and not wasting money on external temporary experiences like going to a music festival.
The 10% Mindset: Focus and Gratitude
To be engaged in 10% mode, your brain must be focused and thinking, "How can I pamper myself more? How can I take what I already have and make it better with the resources I already have?" Instead of seeking expensive and intense radical experiences, we will put our attention on what we already have, and it will help us cultivate gratitudefor our everyday life. Applying the 10% Rule will make our routines more comfortable, pleasant, creative, and exciting.
Self-Love and Inner Calm
Making our home life better is a formidable act of self-love. Watching yourself take care of yourself is soothing and calming to your nervous system. The 10% Rule reconnects us to our inner feminine by lovingly caring for ourselves.
The Cumulative Effect: Constant Improvement and Well-being
I invite you to try out the 10% Rule – to seek out the quiet magic of incremental upgrades and rediscover the joy in your everyday home life. Start small—pick one tiny corner, one simple routine, and ask, "How can I make this just 10% better?" You might be surprised by the transformative power hiding in those seemingly insignificant details. Nurture those little things with a bit of love, and watch how they grow into the big things that truly nourish your well-being, making coming home feel like the day's most comforting and grounding adventure.
