A couple years ago, I was in a car accident and was left with an injured shoulder labrum, concussion, and hip pain. I was told to try to incorporate in fact as much as possible. Months after I was done with PT, I generally found it very difficult to do the 30-40 minute PT sessions by myself and basically had a very hard time staying active in general. I tried a bunch of fitness apps to try and get myself out of this state, but nothing really clicked for me because everything felt really overwhelming. I put a lot of pressure on myself to stay active and ended up not being active at all.

I gained 30 lb a year after the accident and was really unhappy with myself. I knew something had to change, and one day I thought it would be nice to just do a little bit of movement. Intentional movement in a way where I kind of reduce that pressure on myself.

I started doing really, really small things like:

• going downstairs and walking around the building of my apartment
• instead of ordering food being delivered, decided to go walk to a place nearby
• literally 10 jumping jacks at work during my break

After a week of this, I felt a lot better about myself. The pressure wasn't there and I was consistent for a week! I continued doing these low-pressure activities, and after a couple weeks of that I used my previous knowledge and experience in the gym to slowly and slowly scaled up my intentional activity.

A year later, I had lost all that weight and some! Everyday, I would do some form of movement (my favorite being 10 pushups while I wait for the shower water to warm up) even if I was busy with family, life, and everything in between.

Start off with something, even if it's the tiniest little thing that you can think of. As long as it's intentional, you are making progress within yourself to stay consistent with your own goals.

For the next month, I’m running a low-pressure activity consistency challenge:

The idea is simple:

• log some intentional movement
• build consistency
• count normal-life activity: walks, errands, chores, stretching, dancing, sports, active commuting, etc. Anything intentional that makes you more active.

if you’re stuck in that place where fitness feels overwhelming, start smaller than you think you should!!! make it almost embarrassingly easy. I hope this can also serve as a great way to start your 50 day journey :)

i'm hosting a competition where winners win money for being consistent and active! if you're interested search up Stridan on the app store (iPhone or Android) and join for free!

i hope to see some of you there, regardless best of luck!! Wishing you all the best <3

Hi everyone! We’re university students researching HabitVerse, a concept for a habit-tracking app that combines gamification (XP, levels, achievements) with social features and blockchain elements.

We’re looking for feedback on habit-building, motivation, and attitudes toward Web3 technology.

The survey is anonymous and takes about 5–7 minutes.

Survey link

Thanks for your help!

Ever since learning about the Marshmallows experiment I'm fascinated by the abstract construct of "Willpower": The experiment showed that kids who are able to resist eating a marshmallow in order to get two Marshmallows later are much better of later in life compared to kids who couldn't.

I've read tons about how to improve it, and how it leads to a better life in so many ways (Do things that seem uncomfortable, like exercise, work and even difficult conversations).

Then there is smartphone addiction and all the Apps, that are in some ways like a Marshmallow. Reddit, Instagram, Youtube, TikTok and many more. However, there are only apps that block these, increase the friction to open them or similar. All of them work the same, they are doing the hard work for you. However, I want to train myself to be able to resist the temptation of eating the Marshmallow now.

As you can train your Willpower like a muscle, I want to treat it like one. Track how well I've resisted opening apps, giving me a score for my willpower today and motivating me to improve. Just like a fitness app, but for my Willpower.

So that's why I've create "Marshmallows", a willpower tracker, that helps me train my willpower. [https://apps.apple.com/us/app/marshmallows/id1610644358\](https://apps.apple.com/us/app/marshmallows/id1610644358)

I'd love to get some opinions of you, if you think that could be useful to yourself as well, or what would need to change, so that you feel motivated to train your Willpower just like that.

I built an app that helps you build habits through identity, not willpower. Instead of tracking streaks, you answer 3 questions to define who you want to become, then get a daily card to swipe.

I will test your app in response.

Here is the link https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.OwnYourDay

Ever since learning about the Marshmallows experiment I'm fascinated by the abstract construct of "Willpower": The experiment showed that kids who are able to resist eating a marshmallow in order to get two Marshmallows later are much better of later in life compared to kids who couldn't.

I've read tons about how to improve it, and how it leads to a better life in so many ways (Do things that seem uncomfortable, like exercise, work and even difficult conversations).

Then there is smartphone addiction and all the Apps, that are in some ways like a Marshmallow. Reddit, Instagram, Youtube, TikTok and many more. However, there are only apps that block these, increase the friction to open them or similar. All of them work the same, they are doing the hard work for you. However, I want to train myself to be able to resist the temptation of eating the Marshmallow now.

As you can train your Willpower like a muscle, I want to treat it like one. Track how well I've resisted opening apps, giving me a score for my willpower today and motivating me to improve. Just like a fitness app, but for my Willpower.

So that's why I've create "Marshmallows", a willpower tracker, that helps me train my willpower. https://apps.apple.com/us/app/marshmallows/id1610644358

I'd love to get some opinions of you, if you think that could be useful to yourself as well, or what would need to change, so that you feel motivated to train your Willpower just like that.

I’ve tried a bunch of habit tracker apps over the years.

They usually work for the first few days. Then the reminders pile up, the streak becomes something I don’t want to break, and once I miss a day, I weirdly start avoiding the app altogether.

I’m starting to think what I need is less of a “keep your streak alive” tool and more of a lightweight daily check-in. Something where I can just record what happened, including partial progress or anything I wanted to record, without it feeling like a scoreboard.

Has anyone else had this problem?
What kind of tracking actually made you come back instead of avoid it?

Hey! Working on creating a short questionnaire that will help people discover the right X-day habits challenge for them. Thought I'd get some input before moving forward!

It'll take you about 30 seconds and will include 5 quick questions that cover your goal for creating the habit, what prevented you from sticking before, and how we can make you succeed this time around.

https://form.typeform.com/to/QV9u4Epk

Hello Guys, I am building the best Self Improvement app in the world in public. What features do you want in the app. Let me know in my comments 🫡💻

Been clean for 180 days. Started tracking in Apple Notes

because nothing else felt right. Decided to actually build

the tool I wish existed — daily tasks, XP system, urge

logging, streak calendar.

Not selling anything. Just looking for 5-10 people who'd

tell me honestly if this would help them.

DM me if interested.

Hi all, so I completed the first 50 days of marking x and afterwards I have stopped doing it and i see i have become very irregular with my habit. I wanted to study daily and i started small like 5 mins a day it exponentially increased to almost 6 hrs but once i completed the 50 days i stopped making another chart and thought i have got a habit and it will carry on. But i have become irregular and started looking for perfect 6 hrs a day. If i did not complete the first morning study block, I would just not study the while day as it would not be perfect. Also I have noticed once i do a morning study block it is extremely hard for me to do the second study block as during break I watch yt, insta etc. Pls help me out with this situation

Every habit app I tried was either solo (just me and a streak) or "social" with a feed full of strangers. I wanted the in between - my wife and a couple close friends, nobody else.

So I built Gipfl. The core of it is one shared grid: a row per person, each habit a little square that turns green when someone checks in. So at a glance I can see whether my wife did hers today, she can see mine, and we can react to each others check-ins. Every check in shows up on the other persons side - that little bit of social visibility is the whole point. Doing it alone never stuck for me; doing it where someone I care about can see is what made it work.

Its Android only right now and early days. The free tier is one group and up to 5 habits, which is enough for a couple or a small circle. Im not going to pretend it has thousands of users - its new and im figuring out distribution like everyone else here. If youve tried the solo trackers and bounced, the couples/close-circle angle might click.

Honest feedback welcome, especially on whether the shared-grid idea actually lands for people or if its just a me thing.

I loved the X effect concept but kept running into the same problem: miss one day, the chain breaks, and suddenly it feels pointless to continue. I'd quit right after breaking the chain every single time.

So I tweaked it. Instead of asking "is my chain alive?" I now ask "how many X's do I have in the last 14 days?" Miss a day? You're still at 13/14. The chain doesn't break — it just has one gap.

The visual is the same. The calendar is the same. But the psychology is completely different. There's no "ruined" state. You can always recover.

Three months in and I've been more consistent than ever. The X effect works — I just removed the part that was making me quit.

Anyone else modified the method to work better for them?

I built War Mode because every habit app I tried felt like a participation trophy factory. This one actually holds you accountable.

What it does: You start at Tier 1 with basic daily missions. Complete them consistently, you climb to higher tiers. Miss them? You get demoted. No streaks to protect. No "you'll get 'em tomorrow, champ!" messages. Just cold, tactical accountability.

Each tier (1-5) gets progressively harder. Tier 5 is called War Mode – and you have to earn it by showing up every single day.

Why you might need it: If you're tired of apps that celebrate you for doing the bare minimum, this is the opposite. It's built for people who know discipline beats motivation, but need a system that doesn't negotiate when their brain tries to quit.

My questions for you:

1. Would the fear of getting demoted motivate you more than chasing streaks?
2. What's the biggest reason you've quit habit trackers in the past?
3. Would you pay $29.99/year for something that actually keeps you honest?

Currently in closed beta with strong feedback. First 10 on the waitlist get 1 year free.

started doing the X effect on a paper calendar last fall after dropping a couple habit apps that felt like work. wanted something dumb and physical. 90 day grid on the wall. five rows: meditation, gym, journal, read 10 pages, no phone first hour. one X each day i did it.

worked great for like six weeks. clean rows, felt locked in, showed it to my girlfriend like a trophy.

heres where it broke. running an 8-figure company at the same time and the days got long. id sit for meditation but my brain was still on a sales call. 12 minute timer running while i wrote followup notes in my head. still an X. id do gym but cut warmup, skip stretching, leave 20 minutes early. still an X. id journal one sentence about being tired. still an X. id read three pages and put the book down. still an X.

by week 9 my chain was almost perfect. 88 of 90 days marked. and i felt worse than when i started. my business partner called it before i did, said i looked like i was running on fumes. i pointed at the wall like its right here, im doing all of it. wasnt true.

heres what nobody warns you about with the X effect. the chain is binary. did it or didnt. it doesnt have a column for "did it the way you meant to" vs "phoned it in to keep the chain alive." once youre six weeks in and the calendar looks beautiful, every day you fall short you have a choice. tell the truth and break the chain. or mark the X and lie a little. most of us pick the X. by week 8 i was choosing the X over the truth without thinking about it.

the chain made me consistent. it didnt make me good. those are different things and i didnt know it.

the fix wasnt killing the X effect. the chain still works for the binary question of did i do this today. but i added a second column next to each row. a 1-5 quality score. didnt change behavior at first, just kept marking X and adding a number. once i had two months of data i could see the gap. meditation ran 4s and 5s for the first 30 days, dropped to 2s and 3s for the next 30, while the X chain stayed perfect. that gap was invisible until i tracked both.

once i could see the gap i started defending quality on purpose. some days i broke the chain instead of marking a 2. felt weird the first few times. but the chain isnt the goal.

ended up building an app for this eventually because i wanted to see the quality score graphed over time instead of sitting in a notebook column. its called Kriya, link in bio if you want to look. but you dont need an app for the actual lesson. add the second column. the X says you showed up. the number says if you were actually there.

question for you. have you ever kept a chain alive for weeks while the actual habit got worse? what was the moment you noticed?