My Undertaker Streak Journey
Alright, let me tell you about this thing I started calling my ‘undertaker streak’. Wasn’t about wrestling, obviously, but about trying to stick to something, day in, day out, without fail. For me, it was about setting aside just 30 minutes every single day to work on a personal project. Sounds simple, right?
Getting Started
I kicked this off, well, mostly ’cause I felt I was getting lazy outside of my regular job. Needed a kick, you know? So, I just decided, okay, 30 minutes. Minimum. Every day. No excuses. First few days were easy, full of motivation. Got a cheap wall calendar, started marking off the days with a big red ‘X’. Felt good seeing those first few Xs line up.
The Grind
Then came the grind. After about two weeks, the initial buzz wore off. Some days I was tired after work. Some weekends I just wanted to completely switch off. This is where the ‘streak’ mentality actually helped. I didn’t want to break that chain of Xs. It became a mini-game against myself.
- Finding the Time: Sometimes it meant waking up earlier. Sometimes it meant staying up a bit later. Often, I squeezed it in during a lunch break. The key was just doing it, even if the output wasn’t amazing that day.
- Keeping it Real: I wasn’t trying to build Rome in 30 minutes. Some days it was just refactoring a small piece of code, writing some documentation, or even just planning the next steps. The rule was simple: 30 minutes of focused effort on the project.
- Close Calls: Oh yeah, there were close calls. Traveling days were the worst. One time I remember being stuck in an airport, flight delayed for hours. Found a quiet corner, pulled out my laptop, and just managed to get my 30 minutes in before boarding. Felt kinda ridiculous but also proud. Another time, I was feeling pretty sick, almost skipped it, but dragged myself to the computer just to keep the streak alive. Did some very basic stuff, barely thinking straight, but I did it.
What It Felt Like
Honestly? It was a mixed bag. There was pressure, definitely. The longer the streak went on, the more I felt I had to continue. It loomed over me sometimes. But there was also a huge sense of accomplishment. Seeing that chain of Xs grow, week after week, month after month, it was solid proof I could stick to something difficult. It wasn’t about the project outcome anymore, it was about the discipline itself. It became this personal badge of honor.
The End of the Line
So, how did it end? Well, like all streaks, it eventually did. I think I made it to just over six months. Life threw a proper curveball – a family emergency that needed my full attention for about a week. By the time things settled, the chain was broken. Was I gutted? A little bit, yeah. Felt strange not marking that X. But mostly, I felt okay about it. The streak had served its purpose. It showed me I could be consistent when I put my mind to it.
Looking back, it was a valuable experience. It wasn’t really about the project in the end, but about building that mental muscle, that discipline. Proved something to myself. Might even start another ‘streak’ sometime, maybe for something different. We’ll see.
