The C.A.S.H. System

I listened to a podcast about the power of streaks a few weeks ago. The host described Seinfeld’s famous habit of marking a red “x” on his calendar for every day he spent writing.

Reflecting on the behaviors that I wanted to practice more consistently, four things came to mind:

• Creativity: I’m making an indie game called Gus, the story of a lost Corgi searching for his owner in Seattle’s Green Lake neighborhood.

• Activity: I alternate each day between running outside and lifting weights. I love running, but I need a motivation boost to keep up with lifting.

• Social: Enjoying the tail end of summer, we’ve visited friends’ houses for cookouts and most recently attended PAX, a gaming convention.

• Household: Simple essentials like keeping the kitchen clean. Also, I got some neon signs for my office that I’ve been meaning to hang.

I’ve kept up with each of the habits for at least 10 minutes per day during the past 2 weeks. Each night I draw a blue checkmark on the calendar to keep the streak going. I call it “getting C.A.S.H.”

So far it has given my life a greater sense of balance. And I appreciate that it isn’t too rigid. With 10 minutes as the baseline, it’s easy to double down on certain categories depending on where the days take me.