Never Break the Chain
- JP de la Rama
- 3 days ago
- 3 min read
How Atomic Habits Helped Me Reclaim My Art, My Time, and My Future
“Talent opens the door, but habits decide whether you stay inside. Legacy isn’t built in bursts—it’s built in chains you refuse to break.”
Setting the Stage
For years, I told myself I was “too busy” to finish my own stories.
Client work. Parenting. Fatigue. Doomscrolling disguised as “research.”
The usual artist excuses—wrapped in responsibility.
But deep down, the truth hurt more:
I wasn’t lacking talent or ideas.
I was lacking systems.
After reading Atomic Habits by James Clear, something finally clicked.
Not in a motivational, hype-you-for-a-week way—but in a quiet, uncomfortable, this-is-on-me kind of way.
I realized this:
If I wanted to release my backlog of stories, continue Zamora, revive long-abandoned IPs, and still show up as a present father, then motivation wouldn’t save me.
Only habits would.
Where Most Artists Actually Get Stuck
Like many artists, I suffer from a dangerous loop:
Big creative dreams
Inconsistent execution
Guilt
Burnout
Repeat
I’ve lived that loop for years.
I would start strong, then disappear for weeks.
Doomscrolling would creep back in.
Procrastination disguised itself as “rest.”
Before I knew it, months passed—and my own stories stayed buried in folders.
James Clear calls this the Habit Gap:
We don’t rise to the level of our goals—we fall to the level of our systems.
That line hurt.
Because it was true.
The Habit Scorecard (And Why It Changed Everything)
One of the most powerful tools in Atomic Habits is the Habit Scorecard.
It’s simple, but brutal.
You write down everything you do in a day—from waking up to sleeping—and label each habit as:
+ Positive
= Neutral
-- Negative
When I did this, the truth stared back at me:
Doomscrolling? --
“Just checking social media”? --
Waiting to feel inspired? --
Meanwhile, the habits that actually moved my life forward—writing, drawing, learning, parenting intentionally—were scattered and inconsistent.
No wonder my stories stalled.
THE SHIFT – From Motivation to Momentum
Instead of trying to “fix my life,” I did something smaller.
I stacked habits.
James Clear calls this Habit Stacking:
After I do X, I will do Y.
So I started tiny:
After my morning coffee → I sketch one panel
After finishing client work → I write one paragraph of my story
After dinner → I read one chapter (or even one page)
No heroics. No perfection.
And most importantly:
Never break the chain.
Even bad days counted.
Some days I barely moved forward—but I moved.
And that mattered.
I even applied these principles to Parenting 101—because habits don’t just affect you.
They affect your family, your environment, and the people watching you grow.
Especially your kids.
How Artists Can Start (Without Burning Out)
Here’s what worked for me—and what I now recommend to fellow artists:
1. Start Embarrassingly Small
Don’t aim to “finish a graphic novel.”
Aim to open the file.
Momentum beats ambition.
2. Use a Habit Tracker
I carry a small notebook. Nothing fancy.
Checking that box feels stupidly good—and it works.
3. Build Systems, Not Willpower
Willpower fades. Systems stay.
Create routines that make art the default—not the exception.
4. Expect Relapse (And Plan for It)
Old habits will creep back.
The win isn’t perfection—it’s recovery speed.
5. Tie Habits to Identity
I stopped saying:
“I want to be consistent.”
I started saying:
“I am an artist who shows up daily.”
That identity shift changes everything.
WHAT’S COMING NEXT
After a three-year hiatus, Zamora continues beyond Episode 40.
New short stories are coming.
Extinction Ascension will be revealed soon.
New goals.
New systems.
New beginnings.
Not because I’m suddenly more motivated—but because I finally stopped relying on motivation at all.
FINAL THOUGHT
Talent gets you noticed.
Consistency builds a legacy.
And sometimes, the most radical thing an artist can do…
is simply never break the chain.
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