Has the pen thing been what changed it for you, or is it more about just not giving yourself time to overthink? I went through something similar with my sketching. I used to obsess over getting the shading perfect and would end up with these lifeless drawings. Now I set a timer on my phone and just let the lines go wherever they want, and honestly it feels way more like playing than working.

...and honestly that's the SMARTEST thing I've heard about journaling in ages. I read somewhere that habit tracking works best when it's about building the habit, not about the streak itself, and once the streak becomes the goal you're just gaming yourself. I did the same thing with my reading log, hit 200 days and realized I was picking shorter books just to keep the chain alive, so I dumped it and now I only write when something actually hits me. The guilt of a broken streak is REAL, but it's also a sign that the system has taken over the real reason you started. Filling boxes out of guilt is exactly what it is, and your spreads probably got way more honest the second you stopped performing for a number. Good for you for breaking the cycle, that takes more guts than keeping the streak going.