Stay 100% Motivated

[imron]

As many regulars here will know, I'm a big proponent of Don't Break the Chain, a study technique that helps motivate you to achieve your goals by getting you to work towards those goals on a daily basis.  By keeping the chain of days you have done something 'unbroken', you'll slowly but surely be getting closer to some objective.  The longer your chain gets, the less likely you are to want to let it get broken, which kicks off a virtuous cycle of working towards your goal and feeling more motivated the more you work towards it.

It's a great system, not just when applied to learning Chinese but also for developing other skills and/or good habits.
 
Having said that, over the years I've found it to have a flaw, namely that if for whatever reason you end up breaking the chain (perhaps for reasons outside of your control), its length is reset to zero and you have to start building it up from scratch.  This can be incredibly demotivating, especially for big chains, and in my experience the longer the chain the more demotivating it feels.
 
Once things are reset to zero, there's also tendency to think, "well it's zero today, and it will still be zero tomorrow so missing one day won't hurt", and then one day turns to two days, which turns to a week and before you know it a month has passed and you're no longer working towards your goals.

After thinking about this for a bit to see if there was a way to prevent it from happening, I figured out a solution I was happy with and decided to make it in to an app - 100% (currently iOS only but will consider an Android version if there is demand).
 
Instead of using 'days in row' as a motivator, it calculates a 'dedication percentage' based on the number of days out of the last 30  (the time period is adjustable) that you have performed some task.  Your goal is to keep the percentage for each task at, or as close as possible to 100%.
 
If however you miss a day, then instead of the crash you get with breaking the chain, all you get a small drop in percentage and a message telling you how many days you need to keep at your goal in order to get your percentage back up to 100%.
 
It's a completely different feeling from breaking the chain, and you can miss the occasional day and still feel motivated to keep going.
 
The app itself is pretty simple (screen shots on its iTunes page here).  It's just a list of tasks split in to those you have completed today and those you haven't.  Clicking on a task moves it from one section to the other.  You can also view and modify the entire task history, and configure things like reminder notifications if the task hasn't been marked 'complete' by a certain time, but that's pretty much all there is too it.
 
Even though it's simple, it's actually really effective, and I hope you find it useful.

[querido]

I think it will be helpful. Very good.

 

There are settings in Settings/Notification Center to control audible/visible alerts.

 

I've never used a scheduling app. I'll start with this one.

[rebor]

+1 demand for an Android version!

[Shelley]

And one more for an Android version.

 

Sounds good, very much like the difference between games that when you fail make you go back all the way to the beginning and ones that take back to a level that is a set number back from the one you fail at.

 

I very quickly gave up with the ones that crashed you back to level one with but was encouraged to keep at with the other sort.

[Yadang]

I'd totally go for an android version!

[studychinese]

Android, please.

[winterpromise31]

I too would love an Android version! It sounds like a great motivator. 

[laurenth]

I use MyChain for Android, and it has a "Good excuse" button that doesn't break the chain. Of course, you're supposed not to overuse it...

 

[Edit]: Link

[imron]

I tried doing that with Don't Break the Chain also, as in if I justified myself as having a good excuse I would mark that day as done, but it always felt like cheating.

That's why I wanted to move away completely from using chain length as the motivator to remove any of the negative feelings associated with missing the occasional day).

Using it these last few weeks during development has felt much more pleasant than don't break the chain - and it's still exactly the same system, it's really just switching the focus to be an aggregate of days, rather than days in a row, which helps maintain a positive psychological outlook.

For those showing support for an Android version, I'd like to make one, but at the moment an Android version will probably have to wait until iOS sales can fund the purchase of an Android device.  The core code of the App is platform independent, so it'll only require adding a GUI which shouldn't be very complex.

[laurenth]

The "good excuse" button in MyChain does not break the chain, but it doesn't add any point to your counter either. It is also marked in a different colour on the calendar, so you know that that particular day was not a good day (see Dec. 27 on the screenshot).  I agree with you that a "percentage of compliance" provides more motivation/is less discouraging than a "number of days in a row". Depending on the objective, I tend to content myself with something like 6 or even 5 days/week.

 

Anyway, I don't use the "good excuse" button as intended by the developer:  I use it on those days when I did play the guitar/do some active listening in Chinese (these are two of my active chains), but only for, say, less than 30 minutes. I never use it when I did nothing at all.

[Elizabeth_rb]

I love that idea, Imron, and I would be very interested in an Android version, as long as it wasn't very expensive.  Funds are limited and my phone seems to demand a re-set every 6 months or so, which means I need to re-install all my apps.  So far, they're all free ones, so it doesn't matter, but paid ones (assuming it is, of course), well, I don't know how that would work.

 

PS I just looked at the Apple store app info and it looks GREAT!  It's exactly the sort of thing I'd love and would really use.  

[Shelley]

Paid apps usually give you a code or ID no. or something so that at any time you can re install the app.

 

For example I paid for pleco many years ago when I had a windows smart phone, I have move it over several platforms and devices over the years with no problems.

 

Well written and supported apps will usually allow this. I am sure that this will be the same

[imron]

@Elizabeth_rb, check out the link above provided by laurenth, or the link to 'don't break the chain' that I mentioned in my first post. 100% is based on the same basic premise and you should still be able to get good value from them even if my objective opinion thinks 100% is better.

[Elizabeth_rb]

Thanks!

 

If, as Shelley says, there's a code to note in order to avoid repeat download fees, that's just fine.

 

Looking forward to the Android version of 100%, as the screen shots looked just what I wanted.

[AdamD]

This applies to 100% but is about chains in general. This seems as good a thread as any to talk about this.

 

It’s two years today since I started two chains: one of listening for 15 minutes a day, and one of reading for 15 minutes a day. Despite holidays, deadlines, family events, illnesses and two hospital visits, I’ve kept both chains intact.

 

What I expected is that the sustained momentum would improve my listening and reading. That happened. What I didn’t expect was this massive beneficial side-effect: Chinese is normal now.

 

In a sometimes desperate effort to keep myself interested through periods of distraction, stress or mere boredom, I found different things to read and listen to: 豆瓣 threads, brochures off the street, writing drills, podcasts, vlogs, TV shows. That range is now so broad that a lot of it’s become part of my daily routine. When I’m bored late at night, I’m more likely to look at 江苏 TV’s YouTube channel than watch something American on Netflix, because I’m used to doing it. When I’m cleaning the flat and need a podcast, often I’ll go straight to SBS Mandarin or 潘吉Jenny告诉你。 When I want to chat to friends, I always open 微信, Line or HelloTalk first.

 

This side-effect is huge, and has transformed the place Chinese takes in my daily life. As long as I maintain these chains, Chinese will become so entrenched in my routines that I won’t even notice it’s there.

[imron]

Congratulations on maintaining those chains!

 

Persistent, regular practice really is the secret to success with Chinese.

[AdamD]

I really think it is. In the bad months, it can be enough to stop you going backwards. In the good months, you get measurably better.

[querido]

Thank you AdamD.

I bought One Hundred Percent (that's the app's name, by the way) over two years ago but I don't think I ever really used it. 

 

Having in mind the anyone else get exhausted during study thread with its suggestion of the pomodoro method, I hope to start using the FocusTime pomodoro timer (mentioned by imron) and One Hundred Percent to get restarted on a few things whether or not conveniently timeable, and not only for Chinese study.

 

I don't need an app for everything in life but an audible reminder is helpful, as I said two years ago...

I had been setting alarms on my phone for various things but I'll start using One Hundred Percent today. 

 

Edit: My first task will be about staying off of the Internet, with a few tightly controlled exceptions.