Build Log: Why Indie10k Lets You Fix Broken Streaks (and Still Count It)

Today I made a small but meaningful tweak to Indie10k. Users can now fix broken streaks from the past seven days.

That’s it — no fireworks. But it changes the tone of how I want users to think about showing up.

Why this matters

Most habit apps — Duolingo, Headspace, Notion streaks — build on punishment loops. You miss a day? You lose your streak. The app shames you with sad icons or broken flames, and even, words, worst ever.

Indie10k isn’t built that way. This product is about building growth momentum, not performing discipline for an algorithm.

Because real indie builders have messy weeks. You ship on Monday and Tuesday, then your kid gets sick. Or a deploy breaks. It happens. Two days of build, one day of growth — that’s often the real rhythm.

So, I built this feature not to erase the past, but to keep your story continuous.

How it works

If you missed a few days, you can now open the Fix Streak page. It shows the past seven days of your reps. You can pick any missed day and complete a “make-up rep.”

That rep still counts — because the value isn’t in when you log it, but that you reflected and did the work.

It’s like journaling yesterday’s growth. It still builds the muscle.

Why I limited it to 7 days

Fixing streaks is a last resort, not a cheat code.

If you haven’t touched your project for two weeks, you’re not fixing — you’re restarting. Momentum fades after a week. That’s just how attention works.

So I capped the fix window to 7 days. Beyond that, the system resets naturally — not to punish, but to give you a fresh start.

What I learned

After launching this, I noticed one thing immediately: When people feel permission instead of guilt, they re-engage faster.

This update isn’t about generosity — it’s about psychology. People don’t build habits through shame; they build them through agency.

You can’t guilt someone into consistency. You can only help them recover their rhythm.

Reflection

I’ve come to think of Indie10k less like a gym and more like a growth diary. If you miss a few pages, you can still go back and fill them in. It’s your story — and it’s better with continuity.

Fix streaks if you must. But remember: the real win is still showing up today.

💬 Your turn: How do you recover when your own streak breaks — rebuild, restart, or ignore it? Let me know.