published: October 5, 2026
I've had some conversations recently where I mentioned that I've exercised every day since November 2015, and my conversation partners have generally been curious about how I did that but we didn't have time to get into it. So I thought I'd write it out. Most of the ideas were cobbled together from the typical productivity authors, James Clear, the growth equation (opens new window), etc, but the specific combination has worked really well.
I'm not especially disciplined, so my exercise streak really is a result of a system and approach rather than anything all that unique about me. My success comes down to a few elements.
I didn't go from "I don't exercise at all" to "I do 60 minutes of hard training every day." I started out really easy, literally just taking a five minute walk around my block every day until I was able to do that consistently for two weeks, then I upped the intensity.
Your progression could look a little different, but here was mine:
Now I do a rotation of martial arts inspired conditioning or bodyweight/resistance band strength training, mostly because I like exercising outside. I've gone to gyms and things as well, this general structure is agnostic to the actual exercise program you follow. Choose whatever you want!
However, you'll probably find that the fewer hurdles you have to clear in order to exercise the easier it will be to not just stick with it, but do the program you want to do. Since I can always do my routine in my house or nearby it's harder to knock off track.
I wear contacts every day, so I have a bottle of contacts solution in my bathroom. On that bottle I have a plain white silicone wristband (opens new window) wrapped around it, and in the morning when I put on my contacts I also put on that wristband. The simple rule is that I only get to take off that wristband once I've exercised.
This might seem dumb, but it's extremely effective. Since that wristband is only on me if I haven't exercised, I deeply want to exercise and get it off me. This might be somewhat specific to me since in general I find having stuff on my wrists or whatever annoying, but I'm pretty confident that since the wristband will be associated with the need to exercise, it will still work for people who are comfortable having stuff on their wrists.
The general principle is that "some" object actually goes on your body touching your skin every morning at a step you always do to wake up. Maybe it hangs on your bedroom doorknob, maybe it's on your alarm clock, whatever.
I have a calendar hung up on the inside of my apartment door, and nearby I have both green and black pens. Right after I exercise I use a green pen to mark the current day, but if a day goes by without exercising I make a black "X", which hasn't happened since November 2015!
I use the green pen to write down some compressed description and time of the exercise I did to guide myself, but you could just do a green checkmark.
You can of course use any calendar you want, but to keep things simple and minimal I have a basic plain calendar pdf that I print out, write the month and day numbers, and tape to my door.
Above I mentioned a "rollout routine" (described at the bottom of this post), and it's actually a pretty important part of the overall success.
This rollout routine takes about eight minutes, and it's pretty easy and gets me generally warmed up and feeling loose, but the important part is that it makes it easy to get up and going without having to immediately jump to something hard.
It's a lot easier to get up and start exercising if you have something easy and gradual to get you going and switch your brain into that mode.
Sometimes I just can't handle it, I'm feeling down or unmotivated or tired or whatever. The key to days like this is to recognize that they will happen, and that it's better to do something than nothing.
Any good exercise program needs rest days, so I just give myself the freedom and release of being able to choose when they happen! I can have two "easy" days per week, the only rule being that they can't be consecutive. On these easy days I still do my rollout routine and some stretching, which means that I always do something every day.
The habit is ultimately more important than the actual exercise! Your body gets used to the rhythms of a day, and if you always do something, even if it's easy, that means the habit will actually sink into your subconscious and become a part of your identity. After a while it will become more difficult to not exercise in some way. You'll have a structure you can build up to any particular exercise program.
In addition to whatever program you build up to, you should also have a routine that is stripped down to the essentials and can be done anywhere. It should be just enough that even on a day where you're traveling or have a million obligations you can still feel like you've kept to the habit. This is fully up to you, it could be a few pushups/squats/supermans, some yoga poses, whatever.
My rollout routine is especially helpful in situations like this, since it helps me feel loose and awake, can be done anywhere, and doesn't take that long. I even did a very compressed version of my rollout when I had pleural effusion from covid and couldn't lie down for the pain! That was probably dumb of me, and you shouldn't hold yourself to a standard like that, but it wasn't that big a deal since the rollout is easy.
All of these things combine to a system that makes my fallible lazy self actually able to follow through. The calendar generally reminds me of my commitment, the wristband reminds and pushes me on each actual day, and the gradual structure over time and within each workout make it easier to overcome inertia and the emotional aversion to the difficulty.
I'm not obsessed with being a fitness model, I'm a busy dad with a bunch of other things that are more important to me than my appearance (like food 🤤), so I'm not a shredded adonis or anything. But I'm strong and nimble and mobile etc, and this exercise habit has become really important to me. I don't feel okay if I haven't exercised in some way on a day.
I'm always tinkering with the exact content of my program, depending on my goals and constraints at any time, but the general structure has been solid as a rock.
Hopefully this helps you too!
Basically I take every one of my joints through its full range of motion, starting from my head/neck all the way down to my toes.