About this project
The chain productivity method uses a wall calendar to record your progress towards a goal. Each day that you make progress to the goal, you mark the day with a cross. The crosses create a chain from one day to the next, giving a visual representation of your progress. The idea is to 'never break the chain' by never skipping a day which creates a gap. This method of recording progress visually reinforces your commitment to achieving your goal.
Using wall calendars
Unfortunately the wall calendar isn't the most effective way of recording progress using chains:
- Flip calendars showing a month at a time break the visual impact of the chain every week by starting the new week on a new row. Going from month to month breaks the flow completely as visibility of previous months is lost.
- One year to a page calendars are better, but still visually break the chain at the end of each month.
- There are many chain method apps as well, but these applications still suffer the same issues, particularly on mobile where screen space is limited.
The Calendar Arc
The failings in wall calendars led to the creation of the Calendar Arc wall poster. It takes a normal year and wraps it onto an arc, placing each day one after the other, giving you a continuous stream of dates with no breaks.
About Russian Edition
The copy of this calendar was created in Adobe Illustrator with Russian captions. It's very useful thing for everyday projects. The original calendar you can see on official web-site of developer.
More than just chains
The Calendar Arc can be used for more than goal tracking. We've had the calendar in testing in the real world for a little while now, and here are some examples of how it's being used:
Business: Use the empty arcs to record team member leave or staff movements, and see where there are overlaps to ensure sufficient resources are allocated in the business.
Health: Use a chain to represent going to the gym or exercising. Cross each day you do exercise on the chain and try not to break it! Write your weight in the outer arc to track it.
Competition: You have a competition date some months away, so mark the competition date in the outer arc, and set up a training chain. Use the chain to ensure that you're training regularly, and watch as the chain gradually edges closer to competition day!
Sales milestones: Use the outer arc to write sales targets and record daily sales.
Software development: Enhance your agile wall by making the Calendar Arc as the centrepiece for all your other Things On Walls. Use it to tie the entire project together.
Family: Mark your families' birthdays in the outer arc. It's now easy to see how far away birthdays are and prepare for them in advance. Never miss a birthday again!
Eating habits: Use a chain to represent days you don't eat junk food. Don't break the chain by giving into temptation!
Project management: Use sticky notes to mark deliverable dates for projects. Move the sticky notes as dates change, and use a chain to ensure work is being done regularly.
Collaboration: The size of the Calendar Arc makes it perfect for teams to meet around and keep up-to-date on project schedules.
Family II: Paste fun stickers on days to indicate special events for the family, like outings, get-togethers, parties and milestones. Record the kids heights in the outer arc as they grow!
Far-future events: Note long-term events, such as distant holidays, medical checkups or irregular bills in the outer arc with colourful stickers to ensure they are never missed. Holidays can also make use of an empty arc to highlight the range of days you or others are away.
New little ones: Track pregnancy. Write the delivery date in the outer arc and make an empty arc for each trimester. Note significant changes in the outer arc.
University semester planning: Get full visibility over semesters by putting all assignment and exam dates on a single calendar.
Performance reviews: Use a chain to ensure you keep on top of your game when it comes to review time.
