How I Shaped My New Service, or the Power of Minimum Effective Dose – and Several Other Principles

One

My best friend and I usually exchange interesting reads. Several days ago, he sent me a link about the minimum effective dose. I read it, thought about it for a while, and promised myself to get back to doing small things related to daily progress, like short yoga and strength training sessions.

After all, Rome wasn’t built in a day, right?

Two

A few days later, the sock incident occurred, which set in motion an avalanche of seemingly unrelated events. Here’s a brief recap. First, my washing machine ate half of my socks. Next, in response, I created a game called Match the Freaking Socks. After that, inspired by the whole sock thing, I created the entire For Socks’ Sake game set, which I tested in a PREXcoaching® open session with the same name.

As I mentioned earlier, both the participants and I were so thrilled with how the session turned out that I decided to launch Thursday evenings with PREXcoaching® – a series of online open sessions based on For Socks’ Sake. This will be a bit shorter version, lasting only half an hour, which will be easier on the participants’ schedule in the long run.

After the session, I was talking with my friend Petra, who suggested I should offer an even shorter version, in a tight-schedule format. Since I already hold all my 1:1 sessions for only 30 minutes – as longer sessions can take a toll on energy levels depending on the skill in focus – I began to wonder if reducing the time even further would actually become counterproductive.

After all, what benefits could anyone gain from only fifteen minutes of coaching?

Three

Right at about the same time, a completely unrelated event – or so it seemed at the time – was also taking place.

Many of you may not know, but I actually studied Spanish as well. Sadly, soon after finishing my studies, I switched completely to English and Business, and Spanish slowly drifted to the backseat.

Being offered to hold PREXcoaching® in German recently broadened my horizons, and I decided to brush up on my Spanish and extend my active language portfolio.

Since I didn’t have much time – and honestly, I wasn’t particularly eager to invest a lot of time on something I might not even need – I dedicated fifteen minutes each day to revisit my Spanish skills.

One month later, done and dusted – my Spanish is back in business and ready for use. Granted, it’s not at the level it was when I finished my studies, but that’s not the point. The point is that I have another language in my portfolio that I can confidently use in coaching. Not perfect, but perfectly functional.

And that’s what matters, right?

Voilà – The M.E.D. Momentum!

It’s interesting how different perspectives shed different light on things when observed thoughtfully as a whole.

These three seemingly unrelated events brought to life a new PREXcoaching® 1:1 format. Presenting:

 

M.E.D. Momentum – 15 minutes a day, 20 days straight. Small steps, big shifts.

 

This tight-schedule format is designed for those who struggle with busy calendars, fixed recurrent commitments, and the habit of following through.

The M.E.D. Momentum is built on three key principles:

1)      The Minimum Effective Dose

You may have already checked the link on the minimum effective dose at the beginning of this post, but if you haven’t – here’s the nitty-gritty.

The concept of the Minimum Effective Dose originates from pharmacology and fitness science, where it refers to the smallest dose that produces the desired effect.

Tim Ferriss popularized this in The 4-Hour Body, advocating for efficiency over excess effort. Plus, studies on habit formation and skill acquisition confirm that short, focused bursts of activity can lead to cumulative improvement over time.

Therefore, you don’t need to set aside half an hour, an hour, or more for working on yourself. All you need is 15 minutes per day – for a month.

It may seem trivial, but 15 minutes per day for one month (workdays only) adds up to five hours per month, one hour and fifteen minutes per week.

These online or phone sessions are held on workdays because everyone needs a break now and then from, no matter what they’re working on.

Think about it this way: How much time are you currently dedicating to your self-development?

2)      Accountability

Also, ask yourself the following: If you can’t commit to fifteen minutes of self-improvement per day, how likely are you to follow through on bigger promises? Think New Year’s resolutions.

Research in psychology, such as The Commitment and Consistency Principle by Robert Cialdini, discussed in his book, Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion, among other principles, shows that small, manageable commitments make us stick to long-term habits.

Studies on implementation intentions, like that of Peter Gollwitzer, suggest that people who set clear, specific commitments, such as fifteen minutes per day, are more likely to follow through.

And – even the Two-Minute Rule, promoted by James Clear in his book Atomic Habits supports starting with small, effortless actions to reinforce habit formation.

Therefore, sticking to one simple commitment – setting aside fifteen minutes per day for one month – will give you a nice confidence boost in staying accountable to yourself.

Besides, if you think this sounds unrealistic, I would just like to remind you that you spend more time on the toilet per day, especially if you’re a man. Don’t believe me? Ask the science.

3)      Consistency

When I was a teacher, my biggest struggle wasn’t transferring knowledge on a given topic but rather making my adult learners (I only worked with adults) see that consistency is the key to building any habit. And in the end, learning is nothing more than just a habit.

I’d have individual learners attend lessons in bursts – every day for a week, followed by a month of a break. And then they’d return and say, Oh, I’ve forgotten everything.

Technically, no – you haven’t forgotten anything. You just didn’t employ the acquired knowledge, which in turn made it slowly slip into the passive domain. As opposed to being active, when you were drilling it like a maniac every single day.

In terms of science, the claim that consistency beats intensity – every single time – is supported in many different ways.

For example, Hermann Ebbinghaus’ Forgetting Curve, which dates all the way back to 1885, shows that information decays without consistent review or use.

There’s another term in cognitive science called the Spacing Effect which proves that frequent, spaced exposure leads to better retention than – imagine that – cramming.

Let us not forget that Anders Ericsson’s Deliberate Practice Theory additionally supports the idea that short, structured sessions with feedback and intentional focus are more effective than longer, sporadic practice.

And even the concept we previously discussed in detail – the Cognitive Load Theory from 1988 by John Sweller – revolves around the fact that learning in small doses prevents burnout and enhances retention.

Furthermore, in popular literature, BJ Fogg’s Tiny Habits Model also suggests that small, daily actions reinforce identity and long-term behavior change.

Therefore, consistency is yet another issue the M.E.D. Momentum tackles head-on. You are continuously working on yourself for an entire month, twenty days in a row.

You spread your efforts evenly throughout the set period, as opposed to spreading yourself too thin or cramming everything in last-minute before the given deadline.

Plus, a twenty-day streak is a very strong foundation for building any habit. Creative, versatile, and divergent thinking is no exception.

Done & Dusted

And there you have it – the rationale behind M.E.D. Momentum.

What about you? How do you shape your services? Based on gut feeling, science, or market research?

Get in touch and let us know.

Also, if you like the post – or if M.E.D. Momentum resonates with you – share it with your friends and family.

And if you’d like to know more, or just say hello – hello!