Maintaining Your Streak is the Secret to Reaching Pretty Much Any Goal
By: Shaunta Grimes
Tags: Self, Productivity, Creativity, Life Lessons, Writing

My daughter, Ruby, hits up her three best friends in Reno every night on Snapchat before she goes to bed every night.

They’re all on Pacific time, three hours earlier than we are here in Pennsylvania. They’re still doing their homework or maybe watching TV when she’s falling asleep.

But she does…whatever fifteen year olds do on Snapchat. Sends them funny, filtered pictures. Makes jokes. Answers whatever they sent her last.

She does it, even if she’s exhausted. Even if she’s been up all night with basketball and homework. Even if she’s sick. Even if she’s miserable for some reason.

When her phone is out of commission, she scrambles to borrow mine or her dad’s.

No matter what’s going on in her life, she’s touched all three of these friend via Snapchat every night since November 2018, when we moved. Because they have a streak and she doesn’t want to be the one to break it.

Streaks are powerful motivators.

Ruby wouldn’t really be less of a friend if she skipped sending a meme one night. She knows that. Her friends, who have known her since she was six years old, know that.

Showing up every single day for each other, though, has kept them in touch with each other across 2500 miles for more than year.

As I’m writing this post it’s 10:45 p.m. on a Wednesday night. I spent the day in Erie, ninety minutes from home, because I had a doctor’s appointment. I worked from a Panera. I had no time to write a blog post.

But I made a commitment to a friend — we promised each other we’d write every day this week. And I’ve done it so far. I don’t want to be the one to break the streak.

I wouldn’t be less of a writer if I skipped today and picked it up again tomorrow. My friend would forgive me. In fact, I’ve already whined to her and she’s already forgiven me.

But I don’t want the blank space on my calendar.

We’re Motivated by Gold Stars

However metaphorical they may be. We want some proof we’re doing a good job. And we’ll work for it, if we’ve set ourselves up to get that proof.

I’m writing this post at a quarter of eleven at night, because I want to feel like I’m keeping my commitment to myself. And because I want four days in a row of writing blog posts this week. And because I want to be able to report to my friend that I did it.

That’s my gold star. But a literal star on my calendar helps. They’re not even gold. They’re just plain black ink. But they’re just as motivating as those little stickers were in kindergarten. I want to put one on my calendar today. And so here I am, writing.

My three day streak . . . (photo: Author)

What Will You Streak This Week?

Pick a thing. Maybe it’s writing related. Maybe it’s exercise or going to bed on time or . . . really, it doesn’t matter.

Just pick something.

Likely it’ll be some kind of habit you either want to create (like me this week — I want to kickstart my habit of blogging every day) or break (maybe you want a streak of non-smoking days or something along those lines.)

Stick a calendar on your wall where you’re going to see it often. And give yourself a star every day that you meet your goal. Aim for a two day streak first. That’s all, just two days.

You can do just about anything twice in a row, right?

Then aim for three days. Then four.

Don’t think about forever. Or even the end of the week. Just two days. Then three. Then four.

And when you hit a day like I did today — a day when it’s a quarter to eleven at night and you still haven’t earned your star — all you have to do is ask you’re self if you’ve got it in you to do your thing today.

Not forever. Not all week. Just one more time. Today.

What’s the minimum viable iteration of your task? Some days, you might just be able to squeak that out.

The good news is, that counts. Give yourself a star.

Streak maintained for one more day.