The 5×7 Rule or How To Build Better Habits
One of our clients, a prop trading firm, is located on the floor above us in Alaric Tower. As a result, I interact with many of their traders on a daily basis.
Recently, I noticed an interesting phenomenon. Some traders were doing a 90-day challenge that required writing a specific phrase (a mantra) 30 times every day. If a trader missed even one day, the entire 90-day challenge had to restart.
When Perfectionism Becomes the Enemy of Progress
Sounds reasonable? In my view, not quite.
While I do not have formal data on this specific challenge, my experience suggests that completing a 90-day challenge in 91 days would likely yield results very similar to those of completing it in exactly 90 days. Extending that logic, even completion within 95–100 days would likely yield nearly identical outcomes.
I could be wrong, of course, but that would be my expectation based on prior observation. Moreover, the effects of one-off challenges often fade within a few months unless they evolve into durable habits. And that is precisely the question worth asking: how to build better habits that actually last, rather than challenges that reset at the first stumble.
The Case for Flexibility: Why Near-Daily Beats All-or-Nothing
Let’s consider a different type of challenge.
Suppose you commit to not drinking coffee five days per week. In my experience, these “most days of the week” challenges are far more productive. They introduce flexibility, allow occasional breaks, and — most importantly — encourage the formation of repeatable habits.
Small Constraints, Sustained — The Compounding Effect
Sustained over three to six months, the impact of such a structure can be meaningful. Even if the challenge is eventually relaxed, maintaining two to five caffeine-free days per week can meaningfully strengthen personal discipline. That discipline often spills over into other areas of life — at least in my own experience.
What about weekly challenges?
For example: one day per week with no coffee, no meat, and no alcohol. Such challenges can be a useful starting point, but they are less likely to produce lasting change. Constraints applied most days of the week tend to have far greater behavioral impact than those applied only once weekly.
The Further From Daily, the Lower the Yield
And what about once-a-month, quarterly, or annual challenges?
In my experience, the further a habit moves away from daily or near-daily repetition, the lower its long-term yield. Monthly challenges may still have some value, but annual ones are unlikely to meaningfully change behavior. If you are serious about how to build better habits, frequency is the only variable that consistently moves the needle.
5 × 7 > 35 And Why That Changes Everything
Hence the saying: 5 × 7 > 35.