researchengineer.ing

nudge_

the 300-day compact

300 days. 30 sub-milestones of 10 days each. Ends mid-December 2026 — end of fall semester. One artifact per period keeps you on track. Two puts you ahead. The backend tracks it — no self-reporting, no lying to yourself.

Artifact totals include all content files — builds (b), notes (n), roadmaps (r), code (c), research area docs (a). Any .md in content/ counts.

phases — 6 × 50 days

days 1–50

Foundation

5 artifacts

Get the system working. Any topic, any muscle. Prove the habit exists.

days 51–100

Depth

6 artifacts

Pick 2 muscles to double down on. Start showing a voice. Narrow the focus.

days 101–150

Velocity

8 artifacts

Increase cadence. Ship one showcase item. Reduce the friction between idea and artifact.

days 151–200

Integration

8 artifacts

Cross-muscle synthesis. External contributions count. Connect ideas across territories.

days 201–250

Specialization

10 artifacts

Go deep on frontier topics. Replicate papers. Show you can do original work.

days 251–300

Mastery proof

12 artifacts

End-of-semester push. Research-quality artifacts. The GitHub history speaks for itself.

targets are minimums — the floor, not the ceiling.

the rules

never go dark > 7 days

Seven days of silence and the habit starts to dissolve. Any artifact breaks the streak.

1 per 10-day period = on track

One published artifact per sub-milestone is the minimum viable cadence. Two is ahead.

showcase is the escape hatch

Stuck? Ship a single-file implementation. It counts. It moves a muscle. It keeps the clock running.

quality > quantity, but quantity proves consistency

A 300-line notebook entry beats nothing. The heatmap is honest — it doesn't care about excuses.

smallest valid artifact still moves a muscle

Can't finish the big thing? Publish the proof-of-concept. Name the muscle it trains. Move on.

research 50%, engineering 50%

Every phase should touch both sides. Pure reading is studying. Pure coding is rote. Both together is how cracked researchers are built.

what counts as an artifact

build

primary artifact

A published research artifact — experiment, analysis, literature review, implemented paper, system write-up.

showcase

engineering signal

A single-file implementation — CleanRL-style, annotated, self-contained. Proves you can code, not just describe.

notebook entry

teacher hat

A focused note — concept explained, paper summarized, mental model sharpened. Teaching mode.

external

external signal

A PR, paper review, OSS contribution, or public comment that can be linked. Proof of engagement with real work.

how to stay ahead

01.batch easy wins: if one topic yields 3 artifacts, take them all — bank the buffer.

02.end every 10-day window with a named artifact, even if it's a one-pager.

03.alternate hats: don't stay in Researcher mode all quarter — an Author or Hacker build costs less.

04.pre-commit: at day 7 of a period with nothing, write the stub. publish the stub. refine later.

05.external counts: review a paper publicly. comment on a repo issue. it still moves the needle.

research area coverage

builds are counted from the matching territory tag — update your build frontmatter to see counts here.

live status

nudge_

last artifact

32d ago

artifacts logged

14

7 pub · 7 draft

b:1 · n:5 · r:1 · c:0 · a:0

pace

3.0 / 10d

on track for

~89 by Dec 2026

streak

0d

best 2d

day 47 / 300·sub-milestone 5 / 30

day by day tracker (last 30 days)

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