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You've probably heard that 10,000 steps a day is the magic number for health.
Fitness trackers are built around it. Doctors recommend it. It's practically gospel.
It's also made up.
The number traces back to a 1960s Japanese marketing campaign for a pedometer called the Manpo-kei.
Which translates, literally, to "10,000 steps meter."
Not derived from research. Not validated by science.
It’s just a round number that looked good on a device.
The actual research suggests the meaningful benefits plateau around 7,000 steps — roughly 3 miles. Beyond that, the returns diminish significantly.
So I asked myself a question I hadn't thought to ask before:
Where else am I chasing an arbitrary number?
The Concept
In pharmacology, there's a term called the minimum effective dose.
It's the smallest amount needed to produce the desired result.
Below it → nothing happens
Inside it → you get the result
Above it → you're not getting more benefit. You're accumulating side effects.
Most people live above the ceiling in some areas and below the threshold in others.
They're overdosing on work and underdosing on relationships.
Overdosing on scrolling and underdosing on sleep.
The goal isn't to do more. It's to find the dose that actually works — and stop wasting energy past the point of returns.
Before you ask "how much should I do?" ask "how much do I actually need?"
Seasons Change the Dose
One more thing before the examples.
The right dose isn't fixed.
Right now, I’m in a season of life that’s heavy on family and work. So across several areas of my life, I'm not trying to maximize.
I'm trying to hit the floor. Specifically, the minimum that keeps each thing alive until I have more bandwidth.
That's not an excuse. That's a strategy.
Here's what it looks like.
Relationships
Relationships are the one thing you can't buy.
And they become more valuable the older you get.
But they're also the first thing to go cold when life gets heavy — because they don't send you a deadline. They just quietly atrophy.
I've had friendships I thought were bulletproof go completely silent. Because neither of us kept the thread alive.
A text every two months is almost nothing. Losing a 15-year friendship is not.
So that's my dose: text friends and acquaintances every couple of months. Not because I always have something to say. Just to keep the line warm.
It won't deepen every friendship. But it keeps them alive until the season changes.
The minimum isn't a grand gesture. It's just not disappearing.
Money
I'll be direct: I don't have the bandwidth right now to be the active investor I’ve been in the past.
Finding deals takes time. I don't have the surplus.
So I stopped pretending I did.
My 401k runs on autopilot. I'm stacking dry powder on the side — not out of paralysis, but to position for a better season when I have more time and there’s more opportunity in the market.
The minimum effective dose for wealth-building in a busy season isn't finding the perfect trade.
It's not stopping.
Keep contributing
Keep the habit alive
Let compounding do its work while you wait
The best investors I've studied aren't always active. They're always positioned.
Health
Back to steps.
I walk 3 miles a day. That's the dose.
But walking was only covering part of the picture.
Strength training — one of the highest-leverage investments in long-term health — was a gap I was quietly ignoring. Muscle mass. Bone density. Metabolic health. Not vanity. Actually important for longevity.
The problem: serious strength training usually implies serious time.
So I designed a workout short enough to be sustainable and demanding enough to actually work.
6 exercises, 2x per week, 45 minutes per session.
Not built around aesthetics. Built around hitting the dose.
The Takeaway
Your time and energy are finite.
Most people spend them reactively — pouring into whatever's loudest, letting everything else quietly starve.
The minimum effective dose is a defense against that.
Find the floor for each thing that matters
Design systems that hit it automatically
Stop feeling guilty about the rest
You're not optimizing. You're preventing neglect.
The season you're in might not allow for more than the minimum. That's fine. The minimum, maintained consistently, beats the maximum applied in sporadic bursts every time.
Now I want to hear from you.
What's a shortcut you've found in your own life — something that takes minimal effort but actually works?
Reply with your comments. Best ones make it into a future issue.
—Dakota
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