It's Tuesday morning. We move into the new house tomorrow. The one Issue #002 readers know the math was bad on. The old house has to be staged and on the market in a few weeks. I'm typing this on a couch that's about to live in a truck.

I strongly considered taking this week off.

I'm writing it anyway.

Don't break the chain.

James Clear writes about a strategy attributed to Jerry Seinfeld in Atomic Habits. The story goes that Seinfeld told a young comedian to buy a wall calendar, put a big red X on every day he wrote a joke, and never break the chain. The chain becomes the goal. Quality doesn't matter. Inspiration doesn't matter. Don't break the chain.

Anyone can show up when it's easy. Anyone can write when life is calm, exercise when they're rested, or eat well when they aren't stressed. The whole point of a habit is that it has to work when none of that is true.

This is one of those weeks. We're packing every box in the basement while two little boys "help" by unpacking them. Work hasn't slowed down. Skipping would be reasonable.

But a streak you only maintain when life is calm isn't a streak. It's a hobby.

Most newsletters die during their first hard week.

The author hits a rough patch and decides one missed week won't hurt. They're right. One missed week doesn't hurt. The problem is what it tells your brain: this is optional. That's how an every-Tuesday becomes a most-Tuesdays becomes a some-Tuesdays becomes nothing.

The same thing happens at the gym, at work, in marriages, and with anything that depends on showing up. The second you let yourself off the hook once, the threshold for the next time drops. And the time after that.

This newsletter is not my best work. That's fine. The chain doesn't care.

This week's takeaway.

The next time you're tempted to break a new habit, whether that's sleeping in or skipping a workout, do something. Don't try to make it your best week ever. Just don't do nothing. A B-minus version that happens is infinitely more valuable than an A-plus version that stops.

⚡ ONE MORE THING

Ryan Holiday wrote this week that essay writing taught him how to think, and that AI making writing easier might eliminate the struggle that makes writing valuable as a thinking tool. The struggle isn't a bug. It's the entire point. Issue #007 readers heard the same thing from Freud — the years of struggle, in retrospect, end up being the most beautiful. The chain isn't just a productivity trick. It's a thinking trick.

— Matt

P.S. If next week's Jones Corp. is even shorter, you know why.

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