Do you have a habit you’ve been meaning to build but never quite managed?

Something you’ve tried to do for years but just can’t make stick.

You know the ones. You start off strong, but once life gets in the way, it falls by the side. And you always think, I’ll get back to it.

I’ve got a few of these—things I’ve tried to do for years. But they never stick.

This week’s prompt can help.

Habits fail when we’re not clear about what needs to be done and when it needs to happen. Colby Kultgen—the guy who inspired this week’s prompt—calls this “too much guesswork.”

In his recent newsletter, Colby explained how guesswork affects his life:

When we’re unclear about what needs to be done and when, we don’t do it.

It might be that workout you say you’ll do every day but never plan where, when, and what you’ll do.

It might be that plan to read every day but never decide when you’ll do it or for how long.

Your brain craves clarity.

When things aren’t clear, your brain works harder, draining willpower.

On easy days, you’ll get by. But when life gets busy, the lack of clarity makes it harder to follow through.

So, how can you make things clear?

It’s simple. For any habit you want to build, ask yourself:

Where can I remove guesswork to make this easier?

Then pinpoint one small way to simplify it.

Here’s how I applied this to get back into a reading habit:

Before answering this prompt, I aimed to read for at least five minutes a day.

I managed it on easy days, but on hard days, it didn’t happen.

So after answering this prompt I realised I was just planning to read every day and then assuming I would remember to do it.

I was leaving too much guesswork for my brain.

To fix this, I clarified the where, when, and what:

I’d read for five minutes in bed when I woke up. I also chose a book and loaded it into my Kindle app.

So far, it’s working. I haven’t missed a day this week, even on busy days.

Building lasting habits isn’t about willpower. It’s about clarity—removing the guesswork. Once you do that, it becomes much easier.

When you make things clear and cut out the guesswork, even the busiest days won’t stop you.

So, take a moment now. Think of one habit you’ve been struggling with and ask yourself:

Where can I remove the guesswork to make this easier?

Let me know how it helps.

PS.

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