How to choose your seven boxes, with examples for every level

Every evening page in the Longevity Journal has ten boxes, one point each. Three are the same for everyone: Sleep, Exercise and Nutrition, judged against the plans you write before day one. The other seven you choose yourself, and they're what moves you from one level to the next.

The rule of seven

• One box fixes your level bottleneck. That's the first red box in your level. If it's blood pressure, try "8,000 steps" or "no alcohol". If it's your waist, "walked after dinner".
• One box is this week's bottleneck. On Sunday, the lowest row in your weekly grid becomes next week's box. It changes every week.
• Two are stop boxes. The two habits working against you most, written as "No ___": "no phone in bed", "no food after 8pm".
• Three come from your level's list (below).

Write boxes you can tick

A good box is an action, not an intention. You should be able to answer "did I do it?" with a clear yes or no.

• "Be more active" → "8k steps"
• "Eat better" → "veg at lunch and dinner"
• "Sleep more" → "in bed by 10:30"
• "Drink less" → "no alcohol today"

Two or three words each. You'll be writing them every evening.

Ideas by level

Foundational: lean, healthy and fit - Do: walked 8,000+ steps · in bed by my bed time · protein at every meal · strength session done · 10 minutes outside in the morning - Stop: no smoking or vaping · no alcohol on weekdays · no food 3 hours before bed · no phone in bed · no sugary drinks

Advanced: moving your blood markers - Do: walked after my biggest meal · fibre target hit · zone 2 session done · oily fish or omega-3 · legumes today - Stop: no ultra-processed snacks · no caffeine after 2pm · no snacking after dinner · no weekend lie-ins over an hour

Optimized: the top 1 % details - Do: zone 2 volume on plan · interval session done · strength progressed · sleep and HRV reviewed · 10 minutes of mobility - Stop: no screens after 10pm · no caffeine after noon · no skipped strength sessions

When to change them

Keep your seven for at least a month. At each monthly check, look at the weekly grids:

• A box you tick every day is automatic. Swap it for something harder.
• A box you rarely tick is too big. Make it smaller: "30 minutes of zone 2" becomes "20 minutes".
• A box that's ticked but your numbers aren't moving is the wrong box. Pick a different fix for your bottleneck.

And when your level bottleneck turns green, the next red box takes its place.

Why ten boxes and not thirty

Because thirty boxes is a wish list, and ten is a day. Research on habit formation consistently finds that specific, planned actions tied to a cue beat broad intentions. Seven personal boxes is enough to change the numbers that matter, and few enough to actually do.

In the journal: page 18 has the full guide, five ideas per level and seven lines to write yours. More ideas live on our /boxes page.

Sources: Gollwitzer & Sheeran, Advances in Experimental Social Psychology 2006 · Lally et al., European Journal of Social Psychology 2010.