A single effort proves nothing; the will is strengthened the way a muscle is — by small, deliberate, repeated exertion. James urged a daily dose of gratuitous exercise: doing a thing for no reason but that you would rather not. Seven unbroken days is the shortest stretch long enough for the act to cross from a decision you make into a routine you keep.

Expect the first three days to be the hardest. That is when boredom and the “why am I even doing this?” urge are loudest, before the habit forms. Push through them and the rest come far easier. Miss a day and the count does not advance — it asks only that you return.