The start of a new year is as good a time as any to think about some of the positive, healthy habits you'd like to develop—and maybe some of the negative, unhealthy ones you'd like to leave behind.
Perhaps you've started with good intentions and since had a slip, or you are struggling to keep up a run of several days sticking to the same routine, which is especially understandable in the midst of a global pandemic.
Don't give up on developing those good habits, because there are plenty of apps to help you meet your goals: From simple to complex, from stand-off to hands-on, there's enough variety here for everyone to find a habit-forming app that suits them.
HabitBull gives you a good idea of everything that a decent habit tracker can be: a simple interface to log your goals and how often you want to hit them, more detailed calendars and charts so you can monitor your progress over time, and plenty of support to make sure you stay on track. You can choose to start positive habits or to stop negative ones.
When it comes to setting up new entries in your main HabitBull list, you've got plenty of flexibility—it's up to you how you name and organize your habits and how often you want to try and keep (or avoid) them for. The app can ping you with reminders if you want, and it can sync across multiple devices, so you always know what you need to do and when.
If simply listing your habits isn't getting you anywhere near sticking to them, consider Goalify: This app uses reminders, tips, and schedules to make sure you're giving yourself the best chance of succeeding, and you can join with friends for an extra level of accountability. With the free version of the app, you can track three goals at once.
Goalify is incredibly flexible in terms of what you can track and how you can track it, and the app interface is clean and polished—it's no surprise that the app offers a premium plan for professional or business use, because it gives off that sort of vibe. Absolutely worth trying if you want a complete goal and habit solution with an abundance of attached features.
Habitica adds a bit of gamification to the habit-forming process, turning your efforts to read every day or to always tidy up in the evening into a game—complete with characters, levels, and challenges. If you really want to put yourself to the test, you can use Habitica with relatives or friends, and get them to keep you honest and on track.
You input the habits you want to get into, with as much or as little detail as you like, and Habitica will challenge you to stick to them with reminders and progress charts. As you tick off certain habits and milestones, you can upgrade your in-game avatar, unlock extra features, and earn yourself some rewards (like an episode of your favorite TV show).
You might already be using Google Calendar to keep track of the family's medical appointments and birthdays, but the app actually includes some handy habit-forming features as well. If you need something that's free and simple to use, and that fits into an app that you're already familiar with, then Google Calendar might be the option for you.
Tap the big plus button down at the bottom of the Google Calendar interface, choose to set a goal from the list that pops up, and you can challenge yourself to get some exercise, build a skill, make time for others, complete small jobs, improve yourself, and much more. You set the habit and how often it needs to be done, and the app will keep you on track.
Productive Habit Tracker is one of the more comprehensive apps in this field, going all-in on getting you to confront what you want to change about your life and how you want to go about doing it. In some ways it's like having a personal coach in your pocket, asking you questions about your sleep patterns and your motivations as you work through your goals.
For some people, that's going to be too much, but if you're serious about forming habits then Productive Habit Tracker comes with a plethora of features to help: calendars to track your progress, reminders about habits you're slacking on, regular challenges on improving yourself, advice on how to be healthier and more productive, and much more besides.
$30 per year (after free trial) for Android and iOS
Streaks is one of the oldest and most well-known habit tracking apps, and part of its appeal lies in just how straightforward it is to use: You tell the app about the habits you want to stick to, and then it encourages you to keep your daily habit streaks going. You can get up regular reminders if you want to, to make sure you stay on track.
The app is packed with charts and statistics, so you can see how well (or otherwise) you're doing over time, and Streaks integrates really nicely with your other Apple devices too: Macs, iPads, and Apple Watches. If you set a habit that can be tracked by Apple Health, then the app will even tick it off for you automatically once it detects that you've done it.
$5 for iOS
If you're after an uncluttered, straightforward habit-tracking app, then Grow Habit Tracking could be for you. It doesn't have an overwhelming number of features, it simply lets you enter the habits you want to track, then uses an illustration of a growing tree to help you stick to your goals. Stop your habits and your trees have to start sprouting from scratch.
You do need to set a specific time frame for the habit, but with the maximum duration of 143 days, that should be long enough to get into the groove. (The average time a person needs to form a habit is 66 days, the app will inform you.) You also have the option to let Grow Habit Tracking remind you about your habits through your smartphone's notifications.
Free for Android
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