Building Habits with Streaks iOS

For the past two years, I have been habit tracking in my bullet journal. It worked very well for some habits… but others seemed to slip through my grasp. I pick up my journal at the start of the workday, so using the bullet journal as a habit tracker was less of a prompt, and more of a report. I also found I was prone to lie to myself about completion. 😓

Last month, I decided to give Streaks another whirl.¹ I have seen some progress on my goals, and am pretty encouraged.

Some things that have made it stick:

Focused Goals

I am attempting to build three habits:

1. Consistent quiet time in the morning
2. A mindfulness minute at the beginning and end of the workday
3. Writing my wife a thoughtful note.

I'm also trying to break one bad habit: messing with my phone before the other three are complete. 🤷‍♂️

Streaks can support all kinds of habits… but I'm focusing on the three that I believe will help me achieve my overall goals for the year. I'm also leaving out habits that are already habits… brushing my teeth, working out, etc.

Targeted Notifications

I've deliberately created a timeline of notifications to help me fight the battle of an intentional morning. I think of them as a little sherpa, nudging me to stay on the path. Some targets:

• I wake up at 6a, so there's a notification waiting for me on my Lock Screen to remind me to do First Things First.
• I usually wrap up my run/FitBod at 7a, so there's another notification on my Lock Screen encouraging me to get into my Quiet Time.

Staring me in the Face

I really like the widget living on my Home Screen. Building habits creates action. Actions determine my future… so it's important enough to demand the real estate every time I open my phone.

I really like the app… it's well suited to help me battle for intentional, screen-less mornings. I am aware of the irony of using an iPhone app to promote a morning without screens… but it's working.