Looking for help developing and sticking to healthy habits?
A very popular motivational method called “Don’t Break the Chain” is very effective at helping you create and stick to healthy habits. All that is required is that you put an X on your calendar every day you accomplish your goal.
In the long run, you’ll see a chain of X’s that stretches for days until it becomes weeks and then months. This visual aid encourages you to accomplish your goal every day for an extended period.
Rather than allowing multiple goals and tasks to continually distract you, it encourages you to focus on one thing consistently. And, you don’t need anything complicated or expensive to track your progress.
It’s a simple way to track actions to create new habits.
Putting an X in your calendar is simple and easy, which is one of the primary reasons why it’s so effective. Anyone can do it.
This becomes a powerful visual tool/aid that provides a sense of accomplishment helping deter you from breaking that chain.
Why “Don’t Break the Chain” actually works
It’s so simple:
Pick a goal.
Mark off the days on a calendar on which you work toward that goal.
Use your chain of marked-off days as a motivator.
Do something related to your craft every day, no matter how small the action is.
Then don’t break the chain!
Tiny habits, another popular concept, dovetails perfectly with it. Using this approach, you commit to taking one small action every day toward a bigger habit you want to develop.
For example, working toward your goal of getting stronger/fitter/healthier for a few minutes a day is far more beneficial than trying to practice for 2 hours once a week.
Your body and brain has time to process and accept your last workout, you regularly strengthen the neural pathways that help build muscle memory and you notice and remember small opportunities for improvement. Plus it’s sustainable – it’s much easier to commit to few minutes than a few hours!
The beautiful thing is that you don’t have to do it perfectly each day.
Some days when you are feeling “off,” that’s fine! It doesn’t matter if you are doing the best you have ever done, or you don’t even finish whatever it is you want to do. The only rule is that you don’t break the chain. You do it because it’s just something you do every day.
Progress is inevitable when you have built up this kind of powerful momentum.
No matter how perfect or imperfect your efforts are each day, nothing is wasted. It all builds upon the efforts you have made in the past.
Getting started –
Getting started with your chain is really simple.
Here are the basics:
Figure out your goal, or goals –
It’s best to stick to just one or two at the beginning. You can always add more as you get better at it!
Figure out your minimum requirements –
Cook a healthy meal, do some physical activity. Shop for some healthy ingredients. Plan some healthy meals. Walk for 10 minutes.
Pick your tool –
A printed calendar, or a dedicated app. Pick what works best for you.
Set your boundaries –
What do you do if you are sick or on vacation? What’s an acceptable reason to not accomplish your goal that day, without having to break the chain?
Choose a reward (optional) –
While not breaking the chain is great motivation in and of itself, sometimes it helps to have a reward to look forward to!
It’s as easy as that!
It should only take a few minutes to set up, and requires almost no bookkeeping. The calendar is your guide, and following it is as simple as just marking off your progress!
I guarantee, a tiny habit backed up with “don’t break the chain” accountability will gain momentum and expand. You will soon discover there is time to devote to your goal in some meaningful way on a daily basis.
If you really want to cement this practice, buy an annual wall calendar and mark off each day that you lived up to your goal requirements. Its exciting to watch your chain of X’s grow.
And then don’t break the chain!
Handy tips for implementing the “Don’t Break the Chain” rule into your life
1. Choose a single habit to start with
Kiss works here. Keep it simple sweetie! Don’t overwhelm yourself by starting with 10 new life changes all at once. It might be exciting to start something new, but setting unreasonable expectations for yourself will just leave you feeling disappointed and discouraged.
Just start with one. Try to reflect and think about the habit that will have the greatest impact.
2. Connect small habits to your bigger goals
Remember that our habits affect our lives and our goals. Imagine that your goal is to buy a large house. Right now, you have a habit of overspending. These two are related because your habit of spending money will eventually affect how you will save up for your bigger goal.
Be mindful of your small habits because they can turn out to have big impacts.
Whenever you see that you have a bad habit, try to evaluate the bigger goal. That can help you appreciate how important it is to change it.
3. Set a deadline for your chain
You can choose to keep your chain going for as long as possible. But, if you are just getting started, you might have more success if you aim for a 10-week, 60-day, or 30-day streak to give you an early sense of accomplishment. It will help you to have an achievable goal so that you know what you want to accomplish.
4. Decide what failure is
Make sure you are clear about defining what accomplishing your goal looks like for
the day to earn that X in your calendar. Set clear parameters, such as the length of time you spend exercising or meditating or how many healthy meals you need to create/eat each day so you know what success and failure look like.
For example, if your goal is to exercise every day, specify how much time you need to spend exercising to earn your X. If you meet your time goal (say, 15 minutes), add another X to the chain.
5. Never miss twice
As much as possible, make sure not to break the chain twice in a row. This is
important because the stronger your streak, the more momentum you will feel
and the easier it is to keep it going. And when you have momentum, nothing can
stop you.
6. Surround yourself with chains
When you have accomplished your first streak, don’t stop there. Look again at
your habits. What can you change? What can you do more?
Summary
It makes your progress visible…
It’s good to be reminded how far you have come. And that’s exactly what this method does. It not only makes progress visible but also helps you see how far you have come and makes it harder to give up when you feel lazy or tired.
Don’t Break the Chain is a great method for building good habits, and it can help you keep going while tracking your goals. It might be hard at first, but when you see the progress you have made, you won’t want to stop. Keeping your streaks going will make you more disciplined, productive, and successful in reaching your goals.
For more inspiring resources visit my website: There may be something there that will resonate with you and help you live your best life and they are absolutely FREE!
