Elastic Habits: A Flexible System for Long-Term Habit Building

An overview of the Elastic Habits system and its benefits for long-term habit adherence.

“Using this system, you can evaluate your progress and you can calculate the corresponding score for each period of time.”

Brainstorm a list of habits you want to develop (e.g., writing, reading, exercising).

Choose the 1-3 most important habits to focus on.

For each core habit, brainstorm several alternative activities (e.g., for exercising: walking, running, core exercises).

“Choosing different alternatives is for flexibility purposes.”

Create 'show up,' 'easy,' 'medium,' and 'hard' versions for each habit alternative (e.g., for writing: 50 words (show up), 500 words (easy), 1000 words (medium), 1500 words (hard)).

“The purpose of the show-up version is to keep your habit alive.”

Set up a habit tracker (e.g., calendar, app) to record your daily progress.

“If you have shown up for that habit, put a red X on your habit tracker. Then if you have done the “easy” version, put one dot below the Big X. For the “medium” version, put two dots, and finally, put 3 dots below the Big X for the “hard” version.”

Record the version of each habit alternative you complete daily using the defined visual system.

Calculate your daily or periodical performance score based on the point system (Show-Up: 1 point, Easy: 2 points, Medium: 3 points, Hard: 4 points).

“So, here are the rules on how to calculate your scores: Rule #1: Each version has the following scores. “Show-Up” 1 point. “Easy” 2 points. “Medium” 3 points. And “Hard” 4 points.”

If you show up to one habit alternative every day for a 40-day period, you will get a bonus of 40 points.

“Rule #2: If you show up every day without missing any day in this 40-day period, you will get 40 points at the end of this Success Cycle Period!”