Buzz
Maintaining a daily habit is a timeless strategy. Whether you track it by marking a series of red X’s on your calendar or by letting an app reward you with badges for consistency, a streak can help kickstart your habit. However, that’s just the beginning. The real test comes when you break your streak and see what you’re made of.
Streaks are excellent for beginners
As we mentioned back in 2007, “consistent daily action ... builds extraordinary outcomes.” This is absolutely true. Doing something sporadically won’t yield much, but committing to it daily will transform your life. If you write daily, you’ll learn to prioritize your writing and show up even on your worst days. If you stick to a daily workout routine, even an easy one, you’ll not only enhance your fitness but also develop the consistency to pursue larger goals.
For more on habits, watch the video below:
A streak can push you to accomplish things that you might otherwise consider too challenging. For instance, I had a solid streak this summer with the New York Times crossword app. Each time you solve a puzzle on the day it’s posted, you earn a little gold icon on the calendar—but only if you solve it without using the built-in cheats. (For example, you can tap a button to check if any of your answers are wrong.) If you use cheats, the icon turns blue. A streak only counts if you earn a gold icon.
The NYT crosswords are relatively easy on Mondays, but get harder as the week progresses. I typically only completed puzzles on the first few days of the week, but once I understood how streaks worked, I challenged myself to see how many gold icons I could collect. Thursdays weren’t as difficult as I thought; they tend to feature a clever trick, and I found that I actually enjoyed them the most. I also realized that Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays were tough but not impossible. I managed to get all of July’s puzzles in gold, and through this, I learned more about myself and the NYT crosswords.
However, a streak is merely your training wheels. In the bigger picture, it doesn’t matter if you wrote, ran, or completed a crossword every day. Five years from now, you won’t look back and regret the one day you missed. Ideally, by that time, you’ll have developed a healthier relationship with your habit—one that allows for rest days when necessary.
So, your habit must endure beyond the streak.
What happens if your streak comes to an end?
I’ve mentioned before the time I broke a streak of mine: ‘closing my rings’ on the Apple Watch. To keep the streak alive, I had to exercise every day. But that meant no rest days. Physically, I was fine, opting for some light yoga to avoid overtraining—but in the end, it felt like I was cheating just to maintain the streak. Breaking it felt like a weight had lifted.
The crosswords were a different story. One Saturday, I was sitting on the porch, battling through a tough crossword. It wasn’t a particularly fun challenge like the Thursday or Sunday puzzles—it just felt dull. Then, it hit me: *why am I spending my Saturday this way? I could be doing something else*.
That streak had served its purpose, but it was no longer necessary. Doing crosswords regularly, without checking answers, had been an enjoyable challenge, but it’s not something I need indefinitely. It’s refreshing to just put a puzzle down when it’s not engaging, just like *it’s okay to quit a book* that isn’t resonating with you, or to take a day off from exercise when needed.
Who are you when your streak is no longer there?
In many great stories, there's a point where the hero loses their mentor but must press on regardless. Consider Obi-Wan’s death or the perplexing events with Elsa in Frozen 2. It’s a recurring theme because we understand that for the hero to truly succeed, they must learn to navigate their path independently.
This is what happens after your streak breaks. You may try to rebuild it, and some people find value in doing so, but to me, it feels like attempting to resurrect a deceased mentor, hoping to gain wisdom from their lifeless form.
You're on your own now. Which crosswords do you *want* to solve? How many exercise days are truly best for your goals? Is your writing habit working out, or have you realized that you’re not into writing and would rather spend your time doing something else?
Breaking your streak is a rite of passage, linking the simpler victories of the early days to the wisdom gained through experience. Once you’ve broken a long streak—whether accidentally or on purpose—you no longer need it. You’re free, standing on your own, with a bright future ahead of you.
