Breaking your streak on purpose
This post belongs to Escaping algorithms
Take back control of your attention, stop being controlled by algorithms.
Every app has streaks now. Duolingo’s flames, GitHub’s green squares, Apple Watch’s rings. They all tell you the same thing: Don’t break it! Keep going!
At first, it works. But over time, something shifts.
The streak trap
Imagine this: breaking a 10-day streak feels fine, but breaking a 364-day streak? That would be devastating.
The longer your streak, the more pressure you feel.
You start doing ridiculous things: opening Duolingo at 11:58 PM to tap through the easiest lesson. Working out when you’re sick. Setting alarms on vacation just to maintain the streak.
Learning a language is about communication, not flame icons. Exercise is about health, not check-in numbers.
Somehow, we’ve reversed the means and the ends.
Social media and sharing features turn this into vanity. “Look how great I am! I’ve meditated 200 days in a row!” As if bigger numbers make us better, more disciplined.
But you know how fragile this all is.
When you accidentally break a 365-day streak, you think: “It’s too hard to rebuild and beat that number.” And then you actually give up.
Streaks are supposed to help you build habits, but they become obstacles to starting again.
Like investing, things you want to do for a long time need a longer-term strategy.
Breaking streaks intentionally
If you find yourself unconsciously caring about these streaks, I have a counterintuitive suggestion.
Break your streak on purpose.
Every so often, actively choose not to do it. Remind yourself: I’m in control.
What’s better: one 100-day streak, or ten 10-day streaks?
Both are good. 100 days proves you can persist, but ten 10-day streaks also prove your ability to restart over and over.
Think about it—we’re not machines. We work 5 days, rest 2 days. We pause shows when we’re tired of watching. This is natural.
Instead of “do it every day,” try “do it 5 days a week.” Leave some flexibility. It’s more sustainable.
The point was never continuity
So what if you break it? Just continue tomorrow.
Streaks are just tools. When the number becomes more important than the actual action, it’s time to let go.
Don’t let your streak own you.
Next time your streak breaks, smile and start over.
That’s real persistence.
P.S. I intentionally broke my 12-day daily writing streak yesterday. Today I’m writing this not to check a box, but because I’m still experimenting.