I used to track habits as single targets. “Meditate 20 minutes.” “Write 500 words.”
The problem: life has volatility. Some days are smooth. Some days are chaos. A single target means you either hit it or you don’t. All or nothing.
So I started tracking habits as ranges: low – medium – high.
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Here’s how it works.
Take my meditation habit: 55 – 89 – 144 minutes.
On a good day, I push toward 144. On a rough day, I hit 55 and keep the streak. On a normal day, I aim for 89.
The range does three things:
- Lets me overperform when friction is low
- Protects the streak when life is chaotic
- Removes the all-or-nothing thinking that kills habits
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There’s a rule I follow: prove the next level before raising the floor.
Right now my meditation range is 55-89-144. Before the floor goes to 89, I have to hit 233 minutes. Not just hit the ceiling. Hit *beyond* the ceiling.
You don’t get to raise your standards until you’ve demonstrated you can operate at the next level.
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The ranges themselves are Fibonacci numbers. 55, 89, 144, 233. This isn’t arbitrary. At each level, the system has different properties. The jump from 55 to 89 feels different than the jump from 89 to 144.
Fibonacci is a useful frame for anticipating when things will feel different.
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The deeper principle: habits exist in a volatile world. Fixed targets assume stable conditions. Ranges assume reality.
Every system with a single point of failure will eventually fail. Ranges build resilience into the habit itself.
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What habit could you put on a range instead of a single target?