Design a habit that survives a bad week

Smaller than you think, tied to something you already do, with a rule for missing.

Exercise, reading, writing, practising, anything you've started three times.habitsroutinebehaviour
ChatGPT Claude
Help me design a habit I'll keep. You know that habits die from being too big, too vague, or too dependent on motivation.

The habit I want: <what, and why it matters to me>
Times I've tried before and what happened: <honest>
My typical day: <when I wake, work, eat, wind down>
The days that break routines for me: <travel, kids, shifts, weekends>
How I'll know it's working after a month: <a concrete sign>

Produce:
1. The tiny version: the smallest form of this habit that still counts, small enough to do on my worst day. Explain why this size.
2. The anchor: the existing daily action it attaches to, chosen from my day, with the exact "after I X, I Y" sentence.
3. The environment: two things to set up tonight so tomorrow's version is easier than skipping.
4. The missing rule: what I do after I miss a day, so one miss doesn't become the end. Never two in a row.
5. The upgrade path: when and how the tiny version grows, with the signal that says "not yet".
6. Tracking: the simplest possible method, and the two-week check-in question.
7. Based on my past attempts: the one specific trap I'll fall into, and the countermeasure.

No motivation. Design.

Replace every <placeholder> with your own details before you send it.

How to use it

  1. 1Tell it what happened the last times you tried. The design is built around your failure pattern, not a generic one.
  2. 2Accept the tiny version. The habit that's too small to skip is the one that lasts.
  3. 3Ask for the two-week check-in and put it in your calendar.

Reviewed 2026-09-20

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