LOS ANGELES, FROM THE AWNING OF A JUICE BAR ON SUNSET BOULEVARD — After years of telling clients to take life one day at a time, productivity coach Darren Cole has unveiled a new system encouraging them to take it one second at a time.
Local man Ryan Mercer, 38, began the program at 7:00 a.m. Tuesday.
By 7:01, he was already behind.
“The problem is each goal takes about two seconds to read,” Mercer said. “So every second I’m doing the program, I lose another second.”
Cole said the growing delay is not a flaw in the system.
“It means you’re becoming aware of how much time you’ve been wasting,” he said.
Mercer’s first morning included instructions to blink, stand up, reconsider sitting down, drink approximately one sip of water and begin preparing emotionally for a task scheduled 11 seconds later.
At 8:34 a.m., he was still completing goals originally scheduled for 7:42.
“I haven’t technically started my day yet,” Mercer said. “But I have completed 3,118 steps toward starting it.”
Cole’s 630-million-step program promises to eliminate procrastination by ensuring users never encounter an unplanned moment.
According to promotional materials, spontaneous activity is responsible for “up to 100 percent of unscheduled behavior.”
Mercer said the system has already changed his relationship with time.
“I used to waste five minutes staring out the window,” he said. “Now I spend those five minutes reading instructions telling me not to.”
By Tuesday afternoon, Mercer had fallen far enough behind that his schedule instructed him to eat breakfast while he was already considering dinner.
Cole advised him not to skip ahead.
“That’s how people lose control of their lives,” he said.
Mercer is currently expected to finish Tuesday sometime Thursday morning.
He remains optimistic.
“According to the plan,” he said, “I’m doing great.”
