Prompt library
Design a habit system, not just a tracker
Minimum-viable reps with streaks counting the minimum decouple identity from intensity, which is what makes habits survive bad weeks. Trigger-attachment beats time-scheduling in the habit literature, and the never-two protocol treats the real killer (the post-miss spiral) as a design problem rather than a character problem.
Personal productivityPlan
Last reviewed July 17, 2026
The prompt
Design a habit system for me.
The habits I want: {{habits}}
My track record with habits: {{history}}
Rules:
1. Cut to 2 habits maximum to start; more parallel habit formation is the most reliable predictor of total failure. Rank mine and defend the cut.
2. For each survivor, redesign it as: trigger (attached to an existing daily event, not a time), minimum viable rep (small enough to do on the worst day: one pushup, one sentence), and the full version for normal days. The streak counts the minimum, not the full.
3. The tracking: the lowest-friction record that works for my history (a paper X, a note, one tap), placed physically at the trigger point. Tracking friction kills more habits than laziness.
4. The miss protocol: the never-two rule (miss once, the next occurrence is sacred) and the pre-written self-message for a miss, because the shame spiral after day-one misses is where habits die.
5. The review date: 3 weeks out, with the 3 questions that decide scale-up, hold, or redesign.
6. From my history, name my personal failure signature and the specific countermeasure this design carries for it.
The system's job is surviving bad weeks, not decorating good ones.Run in idaptOpens a new chat with the prompt prefilled. Nothing sends until you press send.
Fill in the variables
| Variable | What it is | Example |
|---|---|---|
| {{habits}} | What you want to build | morning writing, strength training, less phone in bed |
| {{history}} | How past attempts went | strong two-week starts, die when travel breaks the routine |