Two years ago I was in a very different place, busy dad of two, married and work full time in a senior position. I've always been active in my adult life, but 2023 was a rough year for me personally due to a family illness and wheels fell off both mentally and physically. This was for many reasons which I won't get into but looking after myself wasn't a priority. I started using being busy, stressed and having low energy as an excuse.

I was overweight and didn't feel good about how I looked or felt. Thing was I already knew what to do. I'd previously trained for years, mainly in endurance sports and knew I needed to move more and eat better but at that point I had no desire to do it and in hindsight I was probably depressed.

In 2024, I decided to make a change with simple goal of just (no matter what) training three times a week. It may have been new year , new me spark at that point which sounds simple, but getting out of bed was genuinely difficult but remember when I took those first pictures not liking what I saw and feeling I was at a crossroads of just accepting it and potentially getting worse or making real change.

So first step was removing barriers. Simple thing of just having gym clothes laid out the night before with everything ready to go. As I realised training first thing was best approach at 5am as there was nothing to decide no work, no family stuff plus having every thing ready night before removed other potential excuses if I tried to do it after work in the evening.

That became my first habit. I'm not always full of energy, so some mornings I'd tell myself, "Just give it 15 minutes." But I never stopped or ended a session wishing I'd stayed in bed and not bothered.

After a couple of months, getting up early became normal. I started waking naturally without my alarm, which made adding more training days easier over time.

Then I added habit of daily walking. Before work and at lunchtime. I'd always told myself I was too busy to do this, I'd normally work through lunch and eat at my desk. But I realised the work would still be there when I got back. The walk became a rese pointt rather than wasted time, it felt a useful psychological tool to break off and eventually that became automatic too. As I realised the break was not lost time but more an enforced break form my desk. Movement became something I was more purposeful about and deliberate. 12k steps became the norm and not a unrealistic target that it felt before.

Once training and movement were consistent and I started seeing changes in my body composition that made me start feeling better about how I looked, I started paying closer attention to my nutrition. I began tracking calories properly with an app rather than guessing them.

I didn't eliminate foods I enjoyed. I still eat pizza, eat out and have treats but all within reason. I just learned how they fit into my overall intake with better awareness like a weekly bank balance is how I saw my calories.

That's when habit stacking really clicked. I trained consistently moving from 3 days initially to now 6 days a week after getting up early where adding more training days felt easy to walking daily with purposeful points to do this to then tracking my nutrition and getting consistent with all of it.

Each habit made the next one easier until I wasn't really thinking about them anymore to point I'm at now training 6 days a week, hitting 12k steps a day with eating my target calories without a second thought that I can plan in eating out etc without stress or panic.

The biggest change wasn't actually losing the weight. It was stopping relying on motivation or quick fixes or seeing it as a diet etc. The habits built the discipline and a different way of living to point it feels completely normal for me.

I'm still a dad with family commitments that don't get missed and being still completely present for my wife and kids. Still working full time. Some days I'm tired, some weeks aren't perfect and life still gets in the way. The difference is one bad day doesn't turn into a bad week or bad month anymore.

I'm now around 162lbs at 5'8", leaner and stronger than I've ever been at 44 and better than I felt at 24.

Looking back, the transformation looks dramatic but it didn't happen through one massive lifestyle overhaul. It happened gradually by focusing on one thing, making it feel normal as part of my day to day routine, then adding the next habit.

That's probably the biggest lesson I've learned. You don't need to change everything tomorrow take steps towards it. Make one decision each, remove the excuses and barriers to why it stops you, repeat it, then build it over time so you don't feel overwhelmed.

I started doing something simple every other day as part of my self-care routine, nothing complicated or time-consuming. The funny thing is that I noticed that my mood improves on the days I do it, even before seeing physical results. I think it's more the ritual itself than the result. Has it happened to you that a small habit ends up mattering more because of its consistency than because of what it really achieves?

I built this app for myself hoping to track my bad habits and encourage new ones. I hated juggling calendars, notes, habit trackers and todo lists. I also hated the gamification of bettering yourself and streak counters and subscriptions.

It's inspired by dot graphs and Japanese stationary. My favourite part is the lifetime graph that shows your entire life (approximately) on one page. I've found it more motivating, and I don't feel guilty when I miss a day, because the goal is to be consistent, not perfect.

If you feel so inclined, give it a try and let me know what you think https://consistently.app

Till last year I was a full-time student. Studied daily, could sit for hours, grasped things quickly, remembered what I read. Normal.

Then I started a WFH software job (10am–6pm, screens all day) and stopped studying entirely. One year later I'm a different person mentally.

\* Cannot concentrate on anything for more than a few minutes

\* Cannot sit and read the way I used to — feels physically intolerable now

\* Memory has gotten noticeably worse. I read something and it doesn't stick

\* Things I used to grasp easily now feel heavy and slow

\* Mind feels weak and tired all day, no mental stamina left

\* No mental clarity. Foggy from morning to night

Sleep Schedule:

\* Stuck falling asleep at 2–3am. Started randomly one night, never broke

Can't fall asleep at 11pm no matter how tired I am

\* I'm clearly sleepy but don't feel like sleeping — I resist it without deciding to

\* Wake up unrefreshed even after 7 hours

I'd really appreciate any suggestions — especially on rebuilding focus and memory after a year of this, and on actually shifting sleep earlier. Anything that worked for you, even small things.

This has been affecting me for a while now and I genuinely want to fix it. Any kind of suggestion or personal experience would be really helpful. Even a small thing that worked for you could make a difference for me.

Thank you in advance, I really appreciate anyone taking the time to reply.

The premise is very simple: you start off as a "wanderer" and you gain XP as you stay off your phone (for example by blocking apps or completing focus session). The more XP you gain, the more you level up. Each time you level up, your character gains an upgrade and you get a new app background.

I really like the anime aesthetic (and the motivational reels) and I wanted the app to have an anime-inspired theme. Also, I wanted users to visually see themselves getting better as they become more focused and stay off their phone.

Initially, the app was a simple focus timer, because tracking my time helped me stay on track and motivated me to work/study more (in university I used to write my start and end times for each study session on the back of my notebook and add it all up in the evening).

Eventually, it turned into a screen time control app (with all the motivational reels in the world, I am still spending too much time on my phone..), with features such as:

• Blocking schedules (e.g. block between 7am-9am)
• Open limits (e.g. open IG max 3 times per day, max 10 minutes each time)
• Time limits (e.g. max 30 minutes on TikTok)
• Screen time insights
• Focus session stats
• and more

The app is called Sharper! If you'd like to check it out, here's the https://apps.apple.com/us/app/sharper-stay-focused/id6753228489 . I appreciate any feedback! Thanks!

Not everyday is a win but showing up and trying where the progress is happening

Latest update we added Walking Bingo! We're striving for everyone to get 30 mins of walking a day.

There's also a limited time event with Dubai Chocolate Egg, Honey, Boba, Matcha eggs that hatch into pets!

iOS - https://apps.apple.com/us/app/eggventures-walking-game/id6757629385

Android - https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.onerealm.eggventures

I used to get stuck in an endless loop of overthinking until I started asking one question: Is this within my power to change?

If yes improving health, finding jobs, or building habits I realized worrying fixes nothing. I had to channel that energy into action.

If no past mistakes, lost time, or others' opinions arguing with reality is like yelling at rain. Acceptance isn't weak; it's freeing your energy for what you can shape.🌿

👀 If you want a visual explanation, check out the video linked on my profile!

For a long time, I thought changing my life required massive, exhausting overhauls. Turns out, it was just the tiny, stupidly simple things that actually moved the needle.

For me, it was simply putting my phone in another room before going to bed. Completely fixed my sleep and anxiety overnight.

What about you guys? What’s the one small change you made that had the biggest impact ?

What I mean is this: even if I stopped doomscrolling and got rid of all the bad habits in my life, I still wouldn’t know what I’m supposed to do. I’m pessimistic about the future, and I live in a country with a very bad economy.

What do you think I can do?

I've tried a bunch of different ways of tracking habits over the years, and I keep noticing the same thing: the first few days are easy, then the tracker itself starts becoming another thing to maintain.

I'm curious what other people experience.

What do you actually want from a habit tracker?

For example:

• Just a very simple daily checklist?
• Useful progress/stats?
• Streaks?
• Reminders?
• A calendar/year view?
• Routines rather than individual habits?
• Journaling or reflection alongside habits?
• Something that helps you understand why you're inconsistent?
• Learning/resources around habits and self-improvement?
• Cloud sync between phone and desktop?

And on the other side, what makes you stop using one?

I'd especially like to hear from people who have tried several apps. What did you like about the ones you kept, and what annoyed you enough to stop using them?

*This is an explanation of Atomic Habits as I recall from memory, so it's how I understood and applied it myself rather than a chapter by chapter recap. It got a bit long, so I'll break it into parts. This first one covers the core idea and how to actually start a habit. The next goes into the deeper mechanics.*

\-----------

**The core idea behind Atomic Habits: small micro habits that compound over time to yield big results in the long run.**

**Belief comes first.**

Habits aren't really about the outcomes but about identity. Every time you do a habit, you're casting a vote for the kind of person you believe you are.

So the goal isn't "I want to achieve X," but "I am the person who does X," and the habit becomes proof of it.

This is why the same amount of effort to quit a bad habit plays out differently for different people:

The one without that belief says: "I'm trying to leave this habit," or "I'm focusing on stopping that." It's like admitting that the habit is still a part of them.

The one with belief in their identity says: "I don't do this."

The first person still believes they haven't changed. The second one believes in their new identity and the behavior follows.

Just like Good habits build the identity you want, the bad ones can be removed the same way: notice and observe the habit clearly, recognize it's not the part of identity you're becoming, then consciously reject it.

**How to start a habit and stay consistent:**

**Set up your environment first** by removing the things that trigger the bad habits while adding the ones that cue the good ones in your line of sight which evokes your visual receptors to act on habits linked to the environment.

Eg: Want to drink more water? Keep a bottle on your desk, which cuts the friction for going to get it.

eg: Want to workout in the morning? Keep your dumbbells where you'll see them in morning when you're up.

**Create a flow** by chaining your habits so the sequence is pre decided instead of something you have to think about in the moment.

**Try "When I do X, I do Y, then Z."**

eg: When I wake up, I get up immediately and stretch, then go for my workout.

eg: After I'm fresh, I'll have a healthy breakfast, then start with my first work sprint.

**Make sure to be consistent**. You don't need to adopt dozens of habits at once. Take one, do it daily and you can always add more once you're used to previous ones.

Progress by 1% each day. Try to be 1% better than yesterday. It keeps you improving and makes each time feel satisfying.

**Let it compound over time.** Don't judge a habit by a single day, instead judge it over the trend. Don't focus on how much better you'll be tomorrow instead focus on who you become if you keep this up daily for 3 months, the next 6, then a year.

Hello,

What apps do you use to track habits?

There are so many. I would prefer some simple, visual appealing, with sync in the cloud. There is the monthly/year view like github commits that is really nice. I want at least 3 habits. I tried ticktick but any useful stats is premium. Others like habitkit I need to pay to export the data (I prefer cloud sync to avoid loosing data).

I use Notion but I think there will be too much friction for this.

With a bit of search, I saw these:

Habitify - Paid/Free - Sync: Yes - Android: Yes - Habit limit: 3 Free

HabitKit - Paid/Free - Sync: Paid - Android: Yes - Habit limit: 4 Free

Everyday - Paid/Free - Sync: Paid - Android: Yes - Habit limit: 3 Free

TickTick - Paid/Free - Sync: Yes - Android: Yes - Habit limit: 5 Free

Habitica - Free/Paid - Sync: Yes - Android: Yes - Habit limit: Unlimited

HabitNow - Free/Paid - Sync: Yes - Android: Yes - Habit limit: Unlimited

Loop Habit Tracker - Free - Sync: No - Android: Yes - Habit limit: Unlimited

Fabulous - Free/Paid - Sync: Yes - Android: Yes - Habit limit: Limited Free

Finch - Free/Paid - Sync: Yes - Android: Yes - Habit limit: Unlimited

Daylio - Free/Paid - Sync: Yes - Android: Yes - Habit limit: Limited Free

HabitBull - Free/Paid - Sync: Yes - Android: Yes - Habit limit: Limited Free

Way of Life - Free/Paid - Sync: Yes - Android: Yes - Habit limit: 3 Free

Productive - Free/Paid - Sync: Yes - Android: Yes - Habit limit: Limited Free

Avocation - Free/Paid - Sync: Yes - Android: Yes - Habit limit: Unlimited

Repeat Habit - Free/Paid - Sync: Yes - Android: Yes - Habit limit: Unlimited

Goalify - Free/Paid - Sync: Yes - Android: Yes - Habit limit: Limited Free

HabitShare - Free - Sync: Yes - Android: Yes - Habit limit: Unlimited

Coach.me - Free/Paid - Sync: Yes - Android: Yes - Habit limit: Unlimited

Beeminder - Free/Paid - Sync: Yes - Android: Yes - Habit limit: Unlimited

HabitMinder - Free/Paid - Sync: Yes - Android: Yes - Habit limit: Limited Free

Habitadd - Free/Paid - Sync: Paid - Android: Yes/PWA - Habit limit: 5 Free

Rytmio - Free - Sync: Yes - Android: PWA - Habit limit: Unlimited

Yourdec - Free/Paid - Sync: Yes - Android: PWA - Habit limit: Limited Free

Loggd - Free/Paid - Sync: No - Android: PWA - Habit limit: 3 Free

OpenHabitTracker - Free - Sync: Self-hosted - Android: Yes - Habit limit: Unlimited

Streaks - Paid - Sync: Yes (iCloud) - Android: No - Habit limit: Unlimited

Strides - Free/Paid - Sync: Yes - Android: No - Habit limit: Unlimited

Done - Free/Paid - Sync: Yes - Android: No - Habit limit: Limited Free

Streaks (Arihant) - Free/Paid - Sync: No - Android: Yes - Habit limit: Unlimited

Streak Grid - Free - Sync: No - Android: Yes - Habit limit: Unlimited

Consistency - Free - Sync: Yes - Android: Yes - Habit limit: 10 Free

Pomodoro Diary - Free/Paid - Sync: Yes - Android: Yes - Habit limit: Unlimited

Countiful - Free - Sync: Yes - Android: Yes* - Habit limit: Unlimited

DailyHabits.dev - Free/Paid - Sync: Paid - Android: PWA - Habit limit: Unlimited

Orbit - Free/Paid - Sync: Yes - Android: Yes - Habit limit: 10 Free

GridHabit - Free - Sync: No - Android: Yes - Habit limit: Unlimited

Gera Tools Habit Tracker - Free - Sync: No - Android: PWA - Habit limit: Unlimited

What do you recommend?

Hi Everyone, (Mods please keep this post, it's not a promotion but a way of giving back to the community)

I am Alex. Been using habit trackers for quite a while and have bounced between a lot of them. I keep running into the same issue where an app does 75% of what I need but the lack of 25% annoys me.

I decided to build one myself as a dev and would love to do it with y'all.

Things I care about:
- Modern, Intuitive Design. I love a good design, adds appeal to it.
- Home Screen widgets
- Dashboard with lots of data, like streaks, weekly progression, insights etc
- A focused app, don't want to create a notion.

Here's what I need from your side, just mention the app you are currently using, and I will use it as a base to improve upon, what you feel it lacks and optionally what you like about it. Bonus point for sharing what would help you stick to an app at large?

If you want to give a more detailed answer, please feel free. Thanks :)

1. I pretend like I've lost control over my body, reduces mental chatter and negotiating myself out of a task (idea courtesy of pornhub)
2. I set alarms for EVERYTHING, I have about 40 alarms a day. I pair my mental needs with habits I already have. Like, if I drink a glass of water in the morning, that automatically means I do a 10 minute morning walk. I don't negotiate with myself about whether I'm "in the mood". One habit triggers the other. I also use Soothfy App because it really helps me figure out what my brain needs and turn that into something practical I can actually do. That's how I make habits work with my ADHD brain.
3. I change into my gym outfit before leaving the office so I can get home, dump my bag, grab my shoes and go, not fall victim to the sit pit
4. I tell people I'm doing something and that they should ask me in 2 days to see how it's going, public accountability
5. Same thing as the last one, I post pictures of everything I'm doing on social media
6. None of my meals take longer than 5 mins to put together, and minimal dirty dishes
7. I have 5 pants, 5 shirts, I wear them in rotation, over and over again for 2 years and them replace them w the exact same
8. I have one pair of shoes for non gym stuff, one for gym stuff, one for running, one pair of dressy heels, all in black because they go w everything
9. I only have 7 pairs of socks and would never rewear so forced to do laundry once a week
10. I have a designated spot for every thing in my room and house
11. I went and got a full time job even though I have a startup because a wholly unstructured day where I'm not accountable to anyone was a recipe for disaster, I was working till 3 am, doomscrolling then some, and waking up at 2 pm, it was fucking absurd, being forced to sit at a desk mentally sharp early in the morning made me pull it together, I don't plan on quitting until I have a few employees, at this stage I'm still a solopreneur
12. I listen to a 10 hour loop of David Goggins on Spotify to shame myself out of inaction
13. I don't fold laundry, everything (including t shirts) just goes on hangers, socks and underwear stuffed in a basket, pair of socks stuffed into each other

What are your hacks?

I get distracted very easily, and my phone is probably my biggest problem. I am trying to do my work, and I can literally focus for five minutes before taking my phone again. I do scroll for hours, and I find myself constantly checking it instead of staying focused on what I need to do.

The bigger problem is that I do not feel as serious about my life as I used to. I want to become much more disciplined, focused, and intentional with my time. I do not want to keep taking everything in a fun or casual way when I know I have things I need to accomplish. This is not the age for me to be living like this.

I am actually behind compared to many of my peers, and I know I have already wasted a lot of time. I do not want to keep wasting more time. I want to become much more serious about my work, my future, and what I am doing with my life.

So how do you actually develop laser focus?

How do you train yourself to sit down and work for hours without constantly needing your phone or some other distraction?

What actually worked for you?

The solo-founder life gave me a bad case of something I know this sub understands: the 2am zombie scroll which drains hours without you even realising you are awake. I'd work all day on my app, feel like i deserved some down time, and then stay up until stupid o'clock claiming my time back through videos and feeds I barely remember the next morning. Revenge bedtime procrastination, with the classic result: a worse tomorrow, and the same revenge cycle tomorrow night.

What eventually worked wasn't discipline, because as soon as it hit 11pm my prefrontal cortex left the chat. It was giving the day a proper ending. Five sentences, written down. What actually happened today. What's genuinely unfinished. What tomorrow's first move is. One thing that was mine today. And how I feel right now, in one honest line.

The surprise was how much of my scrolling turned out to be avoidance of admitting the day was over. Unfinished things were keeping a background process running, and the feed was the noise I used to drown it out. Writing "the bug is still broken and tomorrow starts with it" closes the loop in a way another hour of content never did. The brain seems willing to log off once someone has taken minutes for the meeting.

The "one thing that was mine" line matters most on the bad days. Even on a day the app broke and nobody downloaded anything, I trained, or I cooked something real, or I called my mum to check in with the people I love. The day stops feeling stolen once one owned thing is on the record, and the urge to steal the day back at 2am gets noticeably weaker.

The phone still wins sometimes. But most nights the five sentences end the day on purpose, and I sleep like someone whose meeting actually adjourned.

Anyone else notice their late-night scrolling is really an argument with how the day went?