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If you’ve struggled to keep up a routine, look no further. This app strips down task tracking to the bare minimum, encouraging you to focus and make progress.
The Concept Behind the Habits App
The “(Not Boring) Habits” app, from Andy Works, is a tiny productivity utility for iOS. It can help you achieve certain tasks by developing a habit,encouraging your progress via gamification.
There are manyhabit trackers you can use to improve your productivity, but Habits has a unique prospect. At its core, Habits’ idea is that 60 repetitions of a task are required to build a habit. Importantly, it doesn’t matter if you achieve your goal every day, or if you break the streak; it’s the total that matters.
Habits simply lets you track the days on which you complete those task(s) you want to turn into good, positive habits. It shows pleasing animations as you progress but, for the most part, gets out of your way so the process is quick and easy.
Download:Habits foriOS(Subscription required)
How to Start Building a Habit
Habits will report your progress using a virtual trail, with pleasing illustrations and animations. Initially, you’ll be at “the base”. As you tick off more days, the app builds a series of simple 3D vector dioramas as small rewards.
Once you’ve completed your daily task, hold down the pulsating circle which will transform—with more animation, sound, and haptics—into a completed checkbox.
This effect is such a core part of the experience, that theAndy Worksteam dubs it “The World’s Most Satisfying Checkbox”. In my experience, it helps reinforce a positive feeling and you’ll pretty soon be associating task completion with a warm, fuzzy glow inside.
Checking Status and Progress
On the task screen, you’ll see a record of the current week, with checkboxes clearly marking the days you’ve completed. Swipe up, and you can explore the trail ahead (or behind), that represents your 60-day journey to building a habit.
Swipe up again and you’ll see a compelling yearly view that lays out all 365 days, highlighting those that you’ve completed. This will take a while to get interesting, but it should offer a fascinating look back once the year is up. The annual view could provide anothergreat way of achieving your New Year resolution, or simply looking back at the end of the year.
If you add more tasks, you’ll see them at the top of the screen where you’re able to swipe left/right to switch between them.
Habit Settings and Stats
Tap the name of your habit at the top of the screen to show a list of all the habits you’re currently tracking. From here, you can add new habits or swipe an existing habit toRenameorDeleteit.
From the main screen, tap the hexagonal top-right icon to change settings, including those that apply to the active task. You can tweak the task’sRoutine, see another view of itsHistory, or check out various statistics, including:
You can also change various global settings including several audio features, and a skin which you can choose from a set of diverse options.
Is Habits Right for You?
Habits is the ideal app if you find task-tracking yet another task to struggle with. Its simplicity and quick features make it a perfect pick-up-and-go utility that is always within reach.
By emphasizing completion at your own pace, rather than strict perfect achievement, Habits takes the stress out of productivity. If you’re someone who thrives at their own pace, but still likes the satisfaction of checking off progress, Habits will leave you with the reassuring feedback of a job well done.
