Streaking Accountability

I recently lost my streak on Wordle. Before you pity me, I need to say that it is not that I've not been able to solve one, I'm 100% on my attempts, I just got busy one day and just didn't do it. But now I have to go back to building a streak that was pretty healthy before the missed day.

The daily reminder to go back to the experience, do the work, or try the thing is one form of accountability that has successfully been entrenched in technology. Streaks are becoming very common in apps and platforms that thrive on changing the behavior of their users.  The technological record-keeping of that change in behavior allows for a feedback loop that is addicting and good for the business of behavior change.

“We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit." — Will Durant

In my first year out of college, I had some pretty lofty goals (read: #1 in the country). And along with those goals, I had some pretty intentional daily reminders of how far away I was from the goals.

I was selling life insurance in Dallas and came up with a daily reminder that I hadn't made it to my goal for my first twelve months. I decided that I would park on the roof, just like I had as an intern, every day until I got my goal for the year. So every day for 11+ months, when I drove into the parking garage, I drove past four levels of open parking spaces and parked my car on the roof. I then didn't allow myself to take the elevator, up or down, until I was done with my goals for the week.

Let's just say that I made this commitment in the early part of that year, while it was still cool outside, before thinking about what it would mean in the middle of July. But throughout that whole summer, I ran up and down those six flights of stairs in my suit carrying my briefcase and all my presentations and thought long and hard about how I could get to my goals faster.

“Watch your thoughts, they become words; Watch your words, they become actions; Watch your actions, they become habits; Watch your habits, they become character; Watch your character, for it becomes your destiny.” - Frank Outlaw

In thinking about this post, I thought a lot about a new company that I've been working to help launch for the past two years, AIM7. This easy-to-use app is like having the world's best trainers, coaches, and experts in your pocket and they all know exactly what you need and when you need it to hit your fitness and performance goals. It was developed by Dr. Erik Korem, a well-known high-performance coach that has worked with collegiate athletes, professional football teams, and helped Olympians break world records. I asked him about the importance of daily habits and streaks and this is what he had to say:

"Streaks are important but the increment of the streak is the most important aspect. Daily streaks can be demoralizing as it doesn’t factor in “life” happening. Long duration goals are also too long and push back motivational forces. Medium-term goals with averages are the best.

"We have a sleep tracker that rewards you for your weekly sleep avg hitting a standard over a daily sleep number." - Dr. Erik Korem, Founder and CEO of AIM7.com

I thought this was a great way to frame it and it adds a nuance that 22 year old wasn't ready to hear. The frequency of your reminders about your goal should be in proportion to the length of time it is going to take you to get your goal. I quite literally almost burnt out that summer selling insurance in the heat of the Texas sun. That daily reminder worked then, but it absolutely wouldn't today.

What are the best reminders that you have to hold yourself accountable for your goals that lead to the desired behaviors and outcomes you're working towards?

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