Build a Writing Habit that Sticks

Have you ever started a new habit with good intentions, only to give up after a few days or weeks? 🙋🏻‍♂️

For years, I tried to build a daily writing habit. I started out motivated to write every day. I blogged about writing for 30 days straight. But as the weeks went on, thoughts crept in. I don’t feel like writing today. Work is busy and I need some time to relax this evening.

Our strategy for building habits isn’t working

Only 9.2% of people feel they are successful in achieving their New Year’s Resolution (see Statistic Brain Research Institute). Do you and I lack self-discipline? Or is our habit building strategy ineffective?

There are two problems with how we build habits.

1. We rely on motivation to take action toward our new habit. Motivation is great when you have it, but what about those days when you don’t?

Don’t worry about motivation. Motivation is fickle. It comes and goes. It is unreliable – and when you are counting on motivation to get your goals accomplished, you will likely fall short.
-Jocko Willink

2. We set goals that are way too big. For example, you set a goal to “Hit the gym for 30 minutes, 3-4 times per week.” This is easy enough on days when you are motivated. But what about those days when you had a long workday and are feeling lethargic?

A better strategy for building habits

To make a habit stick, it needs to be so easy you can do it on your most challenging days. So instead of hitting the gym for 30 minutes, try a doing a single push-up.

The habit should be tracked, which is as simple as marking a big X on your calendar each day you complete it. Why track your habit? Tracking keeps you accountable. And it feels good to see your progress.

This strategy in action

Stephen Guise popularized mini habits after starting a “one push-up challenge.” He set out to do one push-up per day for a year and this led to much more. Guise later wrote Mini Habits, a fun-to-read and science-backed book on the strategy.

This challenge has changed my life. Today, I go to the gym 3-6x a week, write about 2,000 words a day, and read every day (all habits or becoming habits).
-Stephen Guise

While Guise started with a mini habit of completing one push-up a day, on most days he accomplished much more. On the days that he only finished a single push-up, he never made himself feel guilty.

The grandfather of this strategy is Jerry Seinfeld. According to his story at LifeHacker, software developer Brad Isaac asked Seinfeld for advice on becoming a better comic. Seinfeld told him that the way to become a better comic is to create better jokes, and the way to create better jokes is to write every day.

To pressure himself to write, Seinfeld had a unique calendaring system. For each day he wrote a joke, he’d put a big red X on that day.

After a few days you’ll have a chain. Just keep at it and the chain will grow longer every day. You’ll like seeing that chain, especially when you get a few weeks under your belt. Your only job next is to not break the chain.
-Jerry Seinfeld

How I use this strategy

I’ve set myself a goal to “Write at least 50 words” each day. This goal is so easy that I’ve completed it even on days when my motivation is low. To measure my progress, I use my Don’t Break the Chain printable (get your free Don’t Break the Chain printable).

I usually exceed my daily goal of 50 words—today I’ve written 431. This doesn’t mean that I’ve upped my goal. Any day that I write at least 50 words is a habit-building win worth celebrating.

Key Takeaways

• You fail to create a habit when relying on motivation and setting the bar too high
• Set a goal so low that you will take action every day and track your progress
• Figure out one habit you want to build for yourself
• Make the habit so small that you’ll do it every day. Think: do 1 push-up, floss 1 tooth, or write 50 words.
• Write it down
• Track your habit by printing out a copy of my free Don’t Break the Chain template
  • Write your habit out at the bottom of the template
  • Put a big “X” on each day you complete your habit
  • Your only goal now: Don’t Break the Chain

(photo by SC-Creations)