Mindset

Here is why you stopped on day 10

August 8, 2026·8 min read·issue #027

If you have been on the internet for the longest, you would have seen a lot of productivity tools and ways to keep at it every day.

This has happened to most of us, if not all of us. When you decided that enough is enough, you want to better your life. So you started by cleaning your apartment, probably because you've watched Limitless. Then you started watching YouTube videos to figure out how to stay productive, focus, and be consistent, but after a few hours you decided to download new tools because you believed that was what was needed to be consistent. You looked for the best Notion template that would magically make you consistent.

While we all know how that story ends, anyway, I will finish it for you.

Now that you have the new tools/apps that you believe will keep you consistent. The first day was great, you woke up energized. The second day was close to the first day's energy, but on the 10th day, you couldn't remember the name of the app you downloaded. It has been 4 days since you opened the tool you believe will keep you accountable.

The story didn't end there, you are really smart, you know that, and you truly want to achieve the goals, but you know you can't do it without being consistent. You tried again and repeated the same thing for months. You start over and over again from the same spot every time, deleting and downloading new Notion templates or apps.

This was my story until I got tired of this endless cycle of repeating the same spot every time. No one told me it would take 5 years of doing the same thing over and over every single day, without missing any day.

I thought consistency and being productive every day were all about planning today and using that plan every day. I thought I would have the same day-one energy for the whole year. But that wasn't the case.

One thing I realized recently: it's not how good you are, it's how consistent you are at doing the same boring work every day and becoming better along the way. And one thing you need to stay consistent is a system. There are lots of systems out there that you can use, but in this letter, I will tell you about one of my systems, which I started using a year ago.

The Conventional Belief

I have heard people say, if you want to be consistent, build a checklist and follow it every day, that is it. I get the message they are trying to send across, but for some reason it always ends up in you forgetting the checklist, not because it's not doing the job required of it, you stopped because you created a checklist, not a system.

The difference between a checklist and a checklist system is that just a checklist keeps you consistent from day one to day ten, but a checklist system gets you going even on day 100.

I have used checklists for the longest, but I am not a fan. I don't know why, but I always stop using them after a few days, none have ever seen day 10. The checklist I created recently is on day 17, which is a record for me. But this is not just another to-do list that you just mindlessly type out; it's a checklist system.

I keep saying the word checklist system, what does that mean? It simply means it's a checklist + a system. Just another checklist is normally a simple list of things you want to do, and you check them off every day, but it is not just another checklist; it's a checklist that has the system in it that helps me to document, systemize, and analyze the process every day.

I can say I am really good at creating systems, but the issue I have is sticking to that system for a very long period of time. I couldn't tell what was missing until recently. I had the idea of the ultimate way to use a checklist to keep me going and systems to get it done properly daily.

Example: I do a lot of things every day, work-wise, mostly in my second work section of the day, the mostly scattered work. So one of the things I recently started doing is sending 15 DMs across my social, one of the second work section checklist as something like "Substack: DM 5 people (engaged/active/didn't convert)". Before I have a system for this, but I will stop using such sooner rather than later, but now when i get to this checklist (DM 5 people), i click on it and it open up the system, and I find 5 prospect, one after the other and fill the data in the system, like (Name, profile link, Hook used, etc). You will also find about 8 checklists inside the (DM 5 people).

Consistency is not about how strong you are, it's how strong your system is. Nobody accounts for the day your energy is low, your sleep, or something blows the whole plan beyond your time limit.

The Two Checklist Versions

You can't have the same energy or perfect day every day, that is why you should always prepare for the fact that things you didn't plan for happen. This is why most people start breaking the routine: because you didn't plan for the slow days, and when you fail one day, it seems like nothing, but when it becomes 6 days in a month, that is 72 days in a year.

So what happens on days I feel like shit? Those days, my first 4 hours deepwork section leaks into my second section, days where I get an emergency. So I planned for such days.

The Full Checklist. This is the full daily checklist, it contains more than 20+ checklists on certain days and fewer on others, because this list varies depending on the days, mostly weekends and weekdays. This checklist mostly takes me 4+ hours every day.
The Light Version. So I created a light version of the same checklist. On the days I know I can't complete the full version, the light version is what I use, this mostly takes less than 90 minutes. I know if I can get this done, I would be better than doing nothing.
The Trap: All-or-Nothing Thinking. Most of the time, the real issue is not that you can't do anything; it's that you have the mindset that is either all or nothing, but that shouldn't be the case. You should have a simple list you can do on days you just don't want to do anything.

Last week Monday, I was working on a client project, which I had to deliver 24 hours later. When I was done working on the client project that morning, I tested their email template to make sure that everything was fine on all email clients, then realized some issues, and my morning session was over.

So, that day I decided to use the light checklist version, and that was the first time I did that. When I was done with the 90-minute light version, the rest of the time was spent fixing the issues with the client work so it's ready before delivery.

Every day won't go smoothly; some days will be rougher than others, but if you are ready for whatever type of day you have, you wouldn't have to worry about consistency. You do not have to have a perfect day every day, you just need the checklist system that can handle any day without breaking.

Two rules I follow with the checklist:

I can only pick the light version once a week.
If I start, I need to finish (unless there is a situation I can't control).
I can only change the system after 100 days of use.

The brain tries to take you back to the safe areas, looking for every possible way to take you out of this boring list. That is why I created these three rules to keep myself from stopping me from doing or using the list every day.

Last on the List

It is good to have a list, but it is always great to check up on your list daily and weekly. You get locked in when you see the progress you have made. That is why I end my daily list with (Review/plan the next day) and a weekly item that repeats every Sunday (Log in the weekly metrics).

These two checklist items are what most people's checklists lack. I use Notion for this. The only thing the checklist needs every day is me checking each day and filling in data. I do not have to think about what's next, I just have to do it. I repeat the same thing daily and weekly, so that's the checklist.

Success only comes to those who are willing to do the boring task consistently for as long as it takes. Most people with the kind of growth you want didn't take a five-day break in a month, instead, they stick to that boring task daily. That's how they got where they are. Believe me, they are not special, the only special thing about them is that they got the job done while you skipped.

You do not need the perfect checklist system, you just need one that will keep you going even in the hardest time.

Reply with your own "light day" version of whatever system you run - I'm collecting these.

- Owol.

P.S. Your light version doesn't have to be pretty. It just has to exist before you need it, not on the day everything falls apart.

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Mindset