Adapted 75 Hard
Prove any behaviour change is possible by never missing a day
- Difficulty
- Advanced
- Time to result
- ~months to results
- Steps
- 5
- Confidence
- 72%
Chris Williamson ran an adapted version of 75 Hard three years in a row. He deliberately stripped out the components he found too hard, arbitrary, or slightly destructive — training twice a day every day, drinking a gallon of water — and kept the ones that matched what he genuinely valued. The core mechanic stays: you commit to a set of daily habits for a fixed period (75 days) and if you miss a single day you restart from the beginning. The point isn't the individual tasks; it's the meta-lesson. If you can hold something for 75 uninterrupted days, any other behaviour change feels easy afterward. It also exposes how many 'little bullshit reasons' you invent to skip, which is where the self-knowledge comes from. A good resolution, then, is a personalised 75-Hard built from things you really value.
Origin
Chris Williamson's personal adaptation of Andy Frisella's 75 Hard, run three years running and reframed as a meta-lesson in resolution design.
Core principles
- 01The meta-lesson is that change is easy once proven, not the tasks themselves
- 02Miss a day and you restart from zero
- 03Adapt the rules to what you genuinely value
- 04Small daily non-negotiables reveal how many excuses you invent
How to run it
- 1
Audit the stock rules
Look at 75 Hard out of the box and identify what's too hard, arbitrary, or destructive for you.
Pro tip For Chris, twice-daily training and a gallon of water were cut.
Watch out An arbitrary rule that's hard just to be hard often isn't worth keeping.
- 2
Rebuild from your values
Replace the cut items with habits you genuinely value and want to be consistent with.
Pro tip Anything you keep putting off or are inconsistent with is a good candidate.
Watch out Don't pick ridiculously easy things or the meta-lesson collapses.
- 3
Set a fixed streak
Commit to a defined uninterrupted period; it doesn't have to be 75 days, but it must have a clear length.
- 4
Move heaven and earth not to miss
Treat each day's boxes as non-negotiable, going out of your way to tick them.
Pro tip Watch the excuses that surface; that's the self-knowledge.
Watch out Beware picking rules that clash with weddings, travel, and a varied life.
- 5
Reset on any miss
If you miss a day, restart from day one — the restart penalty is what forges the discipline.
In the wild
Their friend Ben included 'have a banana a day' and, at 11pm in Cambridge without one, drove around town hunting a banana rather than break the streak. Another rule was an hour of daily meditation, which he once completed by leaving a wedding to sit in the car. Extreme, but it proves the streak's grip and teaches how far you'll go to avoid a reset.
→ Demonstrates that once you can hold a streak like this, any other change feels easy.
Common mistakes
Keeping arbitrary or destructive rules
Rules that exist only because they're hard (twice-daily training, a gallon of water) can be counterproductive; adapt to what you value.
Fixed rules versus a varied life
Rigid daily requirements collapse the moment wedding season or a 17-hour flight arrives; design for your real calendar.
Is it for you?
Best for
People who want proof that they can hold a commitment, and a template for high-ROI resolutions.
Not ideal for
Anyone with a highly varied travel/social calendar during the streak, or who picks destructive rules.
From the transcript
“you don't view any like personal habit change or behaviour change as difficult. If you've been able to stick to something for 75 days without…”
“you have to do the things... for 75 days in a row, and if you miss a day, you go back to the beginning”
From the episode
Christmas Special - Life Hacks, Biggest Lessons & Best Resolutions - #881