topic: [[Forming Habits]] people: #people/oliverburkeman created: 2025-03-27 *Go ahead, break the chain of daily ring closure. Dailyish should be your goal, not daily.* ##### what is it? [[Dailyish]] is a phrase that can help you reframe your habits from rules you have to follow to guidelines that help you know the progress you are making on the things that matter to you. ##### why does it matter? You have to be able to break the chain of daily actions at times, and breaking the chain for the right reasons (travel, illness, family) is really different than not doing the thing regularly that you want to do. You won't write the book, make the music, or create the program, if you don't do it regularly. But, you don't want to be holden to a perfectionism that won't allow you to miss a day here and there. How far can you push it? Well, twice a week is not dailyish, but five times a week is. Four times a week? It depends, are you missing days for good reasons? ##### This reminds me of [[Identity]] and the key question it raises: are you the kind of person who ...? How do you want to answer that? Are you a writer? Are you a climber? Are you a musician? ##### What would the opposite argument be? Don't take days off, you'll loose your edge. It's a slippery slope. tags: #note/idea | #on/habit | #on/identity ##### Sources: Burkeman, O. (2024). _[[Meditations for mortals]]: Four weeks to embrace your limitations and make time for what counts_ (First american). Farrar, Straus and Giroux.