This year, instead of simply reviewing all my streaks, why not make them compete for my love?
I’m going to rank my daily streaks in order of least favorite to favorite. This doesn’t necessarily mean what gives me the most joy, but if a streak had to go, which would go first.
In alphabetical order, here are my 22 current streaks for 2025:
15,000 steps
1826+ Days. At least since January 1, 2021.
10,000 steps a day is a myth! You actually only need about 5,000 a day. So while 15,000 is overachieving, I do think it is a reasonable goal I have been able to maintain. I would say that maybe 7,500 a day is a good reasonable goal that I would give a 10. But 15,000? (7/10)
40 grams of Fiber
365 Days. Started January 1, 2025.
This has been a new secret weapon. In the past, this was reserved for “old people.” Well, I’m old now. I feel like my body has been processing food better and offsetting my sugar consumption. It is recommended for my age and gender to have at least 31 grams. Or 14 grams per 1,000 calories. Since I eat around 3,000 calories because of my 15,000 steps, 40 grams sound perfect. (9/10)
6+ miles run
3,524 days streak. Started May 9, 2016.
This little guy is a problem. I don’t think anyone is going to say that you should run at least six miles a day. This is different from walking; you are putting stress on your lungs and body every day. I think a reasonable weekly mileage streak of maybe 30 miles would be reasonable. I’ve run at least 50 miles every week since February 2017. I am reaching 10 years in May and should really reconsider my goals. (5/10)
8 Cups of Water
Apparently I’ve lost track of this streak.
I was not staying hydrated. I would run for eight miles and then just take a shower and go on with my day. This isn’t just about hydration, but it should also include keeping my electrolytes at good levels. I have been drinking some low-calorie “hydration drinks” more frequently after my runs, and it has been helping. The exact number isn’t crucial, but reminding myself to drink more is key. (7/10)
Blog
1778 Days. Started February 18, 2021.
This blog keeps me moving forward. It keeps me challenging myself to think of new ideas and research my thoughts. It can be a challenge to think of what I want to post next, but that is good. I should always have something I’m working towards and thinking about. I don’t think anyone reads this besides my wife and myself, but I think it is important. (9/10)
Brush Teeth (x2) & Floss
3287 Days. Started January 1, 2017.
My Dad always said that he wished he took better care of his teeth when he was asked what he wished he would have done differently. I would agree fully. It is something you take for granted until you can’t sleep at night because your mouth hurts so bad. These are basic activities that take about 7 minutes a day. (10/10)
Code
1978 Days. Started August 2, 2020.
I no longer have a fear of needing to go back to the job market, but I still love solving problems. Unfortunately, due to the advancement of AI, I have turned into a vibe coder. I used to take pride in figuring things out on my own, and now I just copy and paste a lot of my code. It is hard to find a balance between using AI and coding yourself. But it has reached a point where you can generate an entire test suite in a matter of hours instead of weeks. But, I do like the challenge and would love to see a product I made in the wild. (7/10)
Dance
2563 Days. Started December 26, 2018.
This is one of those strange things where I may not be in the mood, but as soon as I do it, I feel completely different. It is almost like a self-affirmation where you tell yourself that you are going to have fun dancing, and then you actually do have fun dancing. I frequently do it before I need to do my health activities to give me the motivation. (9/10)
Food Photos
2617 Days. Started November 2, 2018.
The photograph is less important than the logging of the food. I do need to hold myself accountable for my eating. I can easily go off the deep end if I’m not reminding myself that all calories count. I have definitely gotten worse at being exact at my logging, but something is better than nothing. I would love to not have to do this, but it is a fact of life. (8/10)
Instrument
2052 Day Streak. Started May 20, 2020.
This year has been a change for me. I have not been actually playing the piano; instead, I have been trying to improve my ear for music. I wouldn’t say it is going well. I do feel like it is a good challenge for my brain, and it is humbling not being very good at something. I think it is good to get out of my comfort zone, but not great that I’m not progressing. (5/10)
Intermittent Fasting
2118 Day streak. Started March 15, 2020.
IF is good for me. I should do it for longer, but even fourteen hours keeps me away from late-night sweets and early-morning protein bars. (8/10)
Journal
1770 Days. Started February 26, 2021.
I don’t think I’ve reread a single journal entry. I will try to use the headlines of movies I watched that day, and when the kids forget whose movie week it is, I can look back and verify. I feel like my blog is a much better version of my journal, but I also know that it only takes a few minutes and gives me some reflection on my days. (6/10)
Meditation
2021 Days. Started June 20, 2020.
I admit this is one of my previous key tenets that has turned into an afterthought. I feel like I trained myself and better understand and accept myself now. But to actually sit still for 10 minutes doesn’t give me much. I am more interested in taking breaks and understanding that it is ok to slow things down. You don’t have to always be doing as much as you can and being as efficient as you can. I still listen to ten minutes of Daily Calm, but this is not crucial to me. (4/10)
No Meat
1735 Days. Started April 2, 2021.
Not eating meat is rarely an issue. Sometimes it even helps, as my animal brain wants to just grab meat when I’m making food for my kids, but since I can’t eat it, I save myself some calories. I don’t think about meat a lot. That said, I do think my nerve issues were around not eating meat like I used to. I need to do a better job of managing my diet. (7/10)
One-Punch Man
3197 Days. Started April 1, 2017.
I don’t know where to take this. It is almost trivial to accomplish. Seems like a fair baseline, but could easily improve. (9/10)
Plank
1096 Days. Started January 1, 2023.
Well, well, well. If it isn’t the thing I just wrote a post about. I don’t have a desire to do this for more than ten minutes a day, and honestly question its need in my future. (3/10)
Read
2563 days. Started December 26, 2018.
In a world of AI chatbots, I think reading material written by humans is more important than ever. (10/10)
Shave
2925 Days. Started December 29, 2017.
I have thought about letting my beard grow; I think I could have a respectable growth. However, I know it would be slightly patchy and have white in it. This is mostly about looking at myself in the mirror and not being ashamed of what I see back. (6/10)
Sleep 7 Hours
I have been sleeping better recently, but in recent years I was going through a lot of issues. I’m feeling better and there is no reason not to try and get at least 7 hours of sleep. (10/10)
Video Games
2196 Days. Started December 28, 2019.
Similar to shaving, it is not necessarily about playing the video games; it is about reminding myself that it is ok to play video games. I can beat myself up for not doing things optimally, but in reality, there is never an optimal solution in life. Do what you want when you have the chance to. (7/10)
Vitamins
970 Days. Started May 7, 2023.
Vitamins have taken me on a roller coaster. I do believe I still need to take some supplements, but it would be great if I improved my eating habits, so I didn’t have to. (8/10)
The Ranking
From the first streak I would drop to the one I will hold onto until the bitter end:
- Plank (3/10)
- Meditation (4/10)
- 6+ miles run (5/10)
- Instrument (5/10)
- Journal (6/10)
- Shave (6/10)
- 15,000 steps (7/10)
- 8 Cups of Water (7/10)
- Code (7/10)
- No Meat (7/10)
- Video Games (7/10)
- Food Photos (8/10)
- Intermittent Fasting (8/10)
- Vitamins (8/10)
- 40 grams of Fiber (9/10)
- Blog (9/10)
- One-Punch Man(9/10)
- Dance (9/10)
- Read (10/10)
- Brush Teeth (x2) & Floss (10/10)
- Sleep 7 Hours (10/10)
