Something you should always do every single day before you holster your pistol for the day is give it a good check over before you head out. Make sure the sights are straight, that there isn’t any debris that has found its way into your chamber, barrel or magazine well. Check the quality of your ammunition - keep record of how long you have been carrying the same ammunition in the magazine so you can rotate it. I always recommend people switch out their carry ammo at least every six months, but for sure at least once a year. You don’t want to put yourself at a disadvantage because of old ammo.
Make sure to keep your pistol on a good maintenance schedule, especially with spring replacements as they are expendable parts that should be replaced in a timely manner. Most semi-automatic pistols are on a 5,000 round recoil spring life with the smaller micro pistols being more on an every 3,000 round recoil spring life. Don’t let an old recoil spring remain in your pistol. The recoil spring not only helps with recoil but it keeps your pistol from beating itself to death. Other key parts to watch are your extractor and striker springs.
Lastly, magazines are a huge part that many folks don’t think about. A magazine is an expendable item that should be replaced once the magazine has lived out its purpose. When you begin encountering feeding problems from your magazines, it is time to rotate them out of your carry loadout and switch them to your practice lot. The fastest way to wear out magazine springs is the constant loading and unloading of magazines. The springs are designed to be loaded and stay loaded so leaving them loaded all the time will not hurt their spring life. Be sure to check them for proper fit and that they fall out easily when you hit the magazine release. Be sure to also check the feed lips on them to make sure they are not cracked or have been stretched out at all.
Just one simple daily check can make all of the difference: Take the time, make sure your pistol is up to standard and ready to go for the day!