How to maximize X (success, happiness, skill, or whatever) in your life:
- Every week, spend at least an hour reviewing what you did the previous week. Think of what you could have done better to increase X even more. Apply the things you find to the next week.
- Every month, spend at least an hour reviewing your review process. Are your weekly reviews making you improve X? Think about how you could make your review process better. Do you need more time for the weekly reviews? What other changes to the reviews can you make so they're more effective? Apply these changes in the next month.
- Every year, spend at least an hour reviewing your monthly review of review process. Are your monthly reviews improving the effectiveness of your weekly reviews? How can you make your monthly reviews better? Apply these changes in the next year.
- Every 5 years, review the yearly reviews in the same way.
If you graph y = X(t) as a curve, the days of your life represent actual increases in the value of X. The weekly reviews represent increases in the slope (first derivative) of X(t), making it increase faster. The monthly reviews increases the rate at which the slope of X(t) increases (second derivative). The yearly reviews increase the rate at which the rate at which the slope is increasing (third derivative). The 5-year reviews increase the fourth derivative, and so on, if you wish to apply more levels of review.
I believe this process to be the best a human being can do to approximate exponential growth of some property of themselves within their lifetime.