It’s almost midnight, and I’m having one of those random thoughts that makes you pause and question your own habits.
Today, I completed more than 100 days of playing LinkedIn’s puzzle games.
And instead of just feeling happy about the streak, I started wondering: Why was I able to do this for 100+ days when I struggle to build other habits that I genuinely care about?
Exercise, for example. I know it is important for me. I know it will benefit me in the long run. Similarly, I want to improve my communication skills and become more confident while speaking. These are things that actually matter to me.
Yet, I usually manage to do them for a week or so before the consistency disappears.
But the puzzle? Somehow, I kept coming back to it.
And I think I finally understand why.
It was accessible.
I already had a habit of checking LinkedIn, so the puzzle was right there. Eventually, I even added the LinkedIn widget to my phone, making it even easier to access. In fact, these days, sometimes I feel like I open LinkedIn just to play the puzzle.
It was enjoyable.
I genuinely enjoy solving them. It doesn’t feel like another task I have to complete.
It was small.
The puzzles take around 10 minutes. Ten minutes is small enough that I don’t have to negotiate with myself about whether I have enough time. I don’t need to force myself. I don’t need to punish myself for missing something else.
And then there is the little reward at the end—the streak, the score, the time, and seeing how I did compared with my connections.
It gives me a tiny sense of accomplishment.
Maybe that’s the lesson I was missing.
We often try to build habits by focusing on discipline: I need to be more consistent. I need more willpower. I need to push myself.
But perhaps sometimes the better question is:
How can I make the habit easier to start, enjoyable enough to repeat, and small enough that I don’t need to force myself?
So, with almost 100 days left in the year, I want to try this experiment on myself.
Ten minutes of exercise every day.
Ten minutes of communication practice every day.
That’s it.
Not a huge transformation. Not an ambitious routine that looks perfect on paper.
Just 10 minutes a day for the next 100 days.
And then, when this year ends, I’ll look back and see what happened.
Maybe I’ll have a 100-day streak for something that matters to me just as much as those puzzles do.
And if I do, I’ll know that perhaps the secret wasn’t that I suddenly became more disciplined.
Maybe I simply learned how to make a habit easier to keep.