4 ms·

I've tried many apps to track my actions and in long term it doesn't work.

by cardenasrjl 6y ago

quenix 6y ago
Ditto. This stuff seems good and is somewhat motivating at first. But it never works out in the long term.
- Trasmatta 6y ago
  For me, I think it's that tracking all the stuff in the app ends up being a bit of a chore. So my mind associates the habit I'm trying to build with that slightly negative feeling. I think it also mixes up intrinsic vs extrinsic rewards. It's less about building satisfaction or enjoyment out of the actual habit (intrinsic) and more about the tracking of that habit (extrinsic). So then the habit just remains a chore. That's my experience at least, I realize it's different for a lot of people.
ycombinete 6y ago
Yes, I wouldn't use this for anything other than having a bit of fun.
jraby3 6y ago
I find that eventually it turns into a reminder app which is helpful anyway, as I have about a dozen regular habits I try to keep. I use Way of Life and it’s been helpful without being a pain.
danielheath 6y ago
I have had much more success printing out spreadsheets (day along the long axis, habits across the short) and using a pen. The interface to generate graphs sucks, but otherwise it’s fantastic.
- esperent 6y ago
  Exactly. I've tried many of these apps, and many fancy tracking solutions. But now, all I use is a spreadsheet and folder of markdown notes. My conclusion, after a good year of testing these apps, is that they don't help me build habits. Only I can do that. If anything, they distract me.
tasogare 6y ago
Sometimes it even doesn’t work in the short term: I downloaded this app last month and used it... once.
- d3nj4l 6y ago
  Yep, these apps require you to put in effort to use them. Ironically, you've got to make a habit of using the app in the first place...
52-6F-62 6y ago
Yeah these never work for me either. I’ve tried again and again-even thinking I’ll keep something like Notion as a user friendly database for tracking what I’ve done. But no. Even if I like interacting with it I just fall off because of the overhead. I’m better off with a sticky note (even virtual ones on my desktop) and a note pad I can tear a page out of than anything else But I’ve always found—since high school—that just the act of writing something down physically cements things in my mind. At least for as long as I need them to be easily accessible.
- PaulStatezny 6y ago
  > But I've always found...that just the act of writing something down physically cements things in my mind. Same here! This is why I use a simplified Getting Things Done system, but at the beginning of the day translate it into a "to do" list for the day on paper. It lets me focus on one piece of paper through the day instead of getting overwhelmed with the GTD system.
godelski 6y ago
They never worked for me. But what has worked for me is breaking things down into trivial tasks. I wrote a longer post here[0], but like you I have had 0 success rates with many of the popular ideas of how to build habits. Apps distract me more than help me in this respect. [0] https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=24393304 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=24393304

I've tried many apps to track my actions and in long term it doesn't work.

quenix 6y ago

Ditto. This stuff seems good and is somewhat motivating at first. But it never works out in the long term.

Trasmatta 6y ago
For me, I think it's that tracking all the stuff in the app ends up being a bit of a chore. So my mind associates the habit I'm trying to build with that slightly negative feeling. I think it also mixes up intrinsic vs extrinsic rewards. It's less about building satisfaction or enjoyment out of the actual habit (intrinsic) and more about the tracking of that habit (extrinsic). So then the habit just remains a chore. That's my experience at least, I realize it's different for a lot of people.

ycombinete 6y ago

Yes, I wouldn't use this for anything other than having a bit of fun.

jraby3 6y ago

I find that eventually it turns into a reminder app which is helpful anyway, as I have about a dozen regular habits I try to keep. I use Way of Life and it’s been helpful without being a pain.

danielheath 6y ago

I have had much more success printing out spreadsheets (day along the long axis, habits across the short) and using a pen. The interface to generate graphs sucks, but otherwise it’s fantastic.

esperent 6y ago
Exactly. I've tried many of these apps, and many fancy tracking solutions. But now, all I use is a spreadsheet and folder of markdown notes. My conclusion, after a good year of testing these apps, is that they don't help me build habits. Only I can do that. If anything, they distract me.

tasogare 6y ago

Sometimes it even doesn’t work in the short term: I downloaded this app last month and used it... once.

d3nj4l 6y ago
Yep, these apps require you to put in effort to use them. Ironically, you've got to make a habit of using the app in the first place...

52-6F-62 6y ago

Yeah these never work for me either. I’ve tried again and again-even thinking I’ll keep something like Notion as a user friendly database for tracking what I’ve done. But no. Even if I like interacting with it I just fall off because of the overhead. I’m better off with a sticky note (even virtual ones on my desktop) and a note pad I can tear a page out of than anything else But I’ve always found—since high school—that just the act of writing something down physically cements things in my mind. At least for as long as I need them to be easily accessible.

PaulStatezny 6y ago
> But I've always found...that just the act of writing something down physically cements things in my mind. Same here! This is why I use a simplified Getting Things Done system, but at the beginning of the day translate it into a "to do" list for the day on paper. It lets me focus on one piece of paper through the day instead of getting overwhelmed with the GTD system.

godelski 6y ago

They never worked for me. But what has worked for me is breaking things down into trivial tasks. I wrote a longer post here[0], but like you I have had 0 success rates with many of the popular ideas of how to build habits. Apps distract me more than help me in this respect. [0] https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=24393304 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=24393304