The +1 Method · chapter 2: Motivation Is a Liar
The same six months, two ways
2026-09-01
Motivation (dashed) spikes far above anything the +1 line asks for, then falls to the floor and stays there through the grey months. The +1 line (thick) never has a hard day and never has a day off, and by day 180 it is doing more than the spike ever did.
Below: the paragraph from the book that builds this idea, then the diagram itself (Figure 2.1), and a recap. About a minute of reading.
I want to draw the pattern, because once you see it drawn you stop arguing with yourself about it. Figure 2.1 puts six months on one set of axes. The dashed line is how a motivation driven attempt actually behaves. The thick line is what adding one rep a day looks like over the same period. This is the picture the rest of the book argues with.
Recap
- The idea: Motivation (dashed) spikes far above anything the +1 line asks for, then falls to the floor and stays there through the grey months.
- The picture: Figure 2.1, from chapter 2 ("Motivation Is a Liar") of The +1 Method.
- Go deeper: the chapter builds this step by step, with recipes and sources at the end.
This diagram is one of many in The +1 Method.
Every chapter opens with the gist, draws the hard ideas, and ends with recipes and sources.
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