I have this rule (haha I know right) nowadays that every day this fall, until November 30th, I have to exercise in some form. I can choose the form freely, but mere ordinary walking is not enough. So, on any given day, I'll either
- go to the gym,
- walk up and down the stairs,
- swim,
- run, or
- if I have no time or energy, I'll just get up and do squats until my legs hurt, or get down onto the floor and plank until I can't hold it anymore.
I'm reaping the benefits of the psychological "don't break the chain" bias: people want to be consistent and predictable, so it'll be easier to do something every day than it is to do something every other day. And when you make that something as quick or easy to do as possible, there's the least amount of resistance to do it.
Keeping the chain unbroken would be incredibly hard if the only acceptable form of exercise for my rule were going to the gym.
But I'm okay with any not-walking type of exercise, so I have high motivation to keep the chain unbroken since even planking for two minutes is enough to get the tick.
So now, instead of giving up on day 2 when I'd have realized that I'm physically unable to go to the gym every day, now I have an unbroken chain since September.
RK
