How do I stay consistent when motivation completely dies after the first week?

What consistent people know: motivation dying in week two isn't your flaw — it's the spec. Novelty chemistry funds week one for everybody, then expires for everybody. The difference is they've built systems that assume its death; you keep building plans that require it to live. The survival kit for week two onward: 1. Pre-decide the minimum viable day: 'when I don't feel like it, I do X-small' (10 minutes, one page, one set) — decided NOW, while sane, not renegotiated nightly with a tired brain. Bad days executing the minimum are what consistency is literally made of; the good days were never the problem. 2. Remove daily decisions: fixed time, fixed place, fixed sequence. Every choice left open in the moment is a door motivation used to walk out of. 3. Track 'days showed up', not results. Results lag by weeks and starve the reward loop exactly when it's fragile; attendance pays daily and is fully in your control. 4. The two-day rule: never miss twice. One miss is a data point; two starts a new identity ('I'm someone who quit'). Protect the rebound, not the streak. 5. Expect the week-3 'plateau of disillusionment' by name. Labelled and expected, it's weather; unlabelled, it feels like proof you should stop. And the deeper reframe: stop asking 'how do I stay motivated' and start asking 'what would this look like if it didn't need motivation?' Design for your worst days — your best days will take care of themselves.