Why habit apps suck, or do they?

Image showing a path with lot of turns Image created by OpenAI's DALL·E

I started using a habit-tracking app to keep my goals in check, and it was going great for the first five weeks. Then, I decided to tweak my strategy, thinking it would enhance my productivity. Fast forward three weeks, and I haven't opened the app since.

So, what exactly went south? Here's a quick dive into my experience.

Initial Strategy: Embracing Small Wins¶

At the outset, I had a pretty straightforward approach: break down my tasks into bite-sized chunks. I laid out how many hours I aimed to dedicate to each goal weekly and split it into specific durations and frequencies. My initial setup looked something like this:

15 minutes of practicing fast typing, four days a week.
30 minutes of reading a book, three days a week.
3 hours of working through LeetCode problems, five days a week.
3 hours of backend developer projects or courses from boot.dev, three days a week
45 minutes of job hunting, five days a week.

This approach made it easier to mark off tasks and bask in the satisfaction of completing them. The smaller goals kept me moving forward.

Adjusting Course: Introducing a New Approach¶

There were days when life happened, and I couldn't complete a task fully. For instance, managing only 2 hours on LeetCode instead of 3. Not being able to check off that task felt demotivating.

That's when I discovered a feature in the app that allowed tracking total hours spent on activities weekly. It sounded like a game-changer, so I switched all my goals to this new format.

Unforeseen Challenges: Reflections on Change¶

Initially, the change seemed to work okay, but soon the lack of instant gratification from ticking off tasks daily started to weigh on me. The satisfaction was postponed until I had accumulated all the hours for the week.

Gradually, I found myself avoiding logging my hours in the app. This didn't mean I stopped working on my tasks; I just wasn't recording it anymore. Eventually, I lost track of how much time I was actually spending on each task and whether I was hitting my goals.

Key Takeaways: Lessons Learned¶

Here's what I learned from this experience - breaking down tasks into smaller chunks is key, even when the goals are more abstract, like learning a new language. When you bundle tasks into larger blocks, it's tough to maintain motivation.

What works for you?

I'd love to hear your thoughts and experiences with habit-tracking apps.