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Show HN: Habit List - my first iOS app

282 points by ggualberto 14y ago

freshfey 14y ago
Beautiful. May I ask what resources you used to learn iOS hacking? Also: What's that font?
- btipling 14y ago
  DroidSerif Italic. You can check it with your browser.
- chrisa 14y ago
  For learning iOS I'd definitely recommend the free Stanford lectures on iTunes U: http://itunes.apple.com/itunes-u/ipad-iphone-application-development/id473757255 http://itunes.apple.com/itunes-u/ipad-iphone-application-dev...
- ggualberto 14y ago
  As someone pointed out elsewhere, I've hacking for a while. I was just new to iOS. The big hurdle was getting up to speed with Cocoa. Apple's documentation was the best resource for that.
frou_dh 14y ago
The visual design looks great. I'm a fan of such "streak" based tracking (aka Seinfeld Calendar). Looking at it can mentally transport you back to the last time things went wrong and remind you that it wasn't worth it (because you went back on track). Do you have a way to export the recorded data? That's something that bothers me about this kind of iOS app: the data might still be useful after you eventually stop using the app or even iOS. It could be as simple as sending XML or CSV via the on-device email.
- parley 14y ago
  This! Offering data export functionality (API or otherwise) is what allows data portability nuts like me to use things like Read It later/Evernote/whatever without cringing a bit in fear of losing the data for any number of reasons. The probability of needing it doesn't factor into my gut feelings, just the (miniscule?) risk of it. ;o) Have already started using your app though, it looks very nice!
- ggualberto 14y ago
  That's a good idea. I'm going to add that to the road map.
iamben 14y ago
This is a great idea. Would love to see it on Android.
- enan 14y ago
  I made something similar for android for my needs - although it is not as pretty :) https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.appsmithy.activitylog&hl=en https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.appsmithy....
Whitespace 14y ago
I've used streaks before, but I never liked how the interface didn't tell me what I had to do /today/ to maintain my streaks. Your app seems to solve this, so you've got a customer. Also, great design! Are you tracking conversions?
gumpieza 14y ago
Very nice.. Well done. Any tips on the best ways to get into the market? For example could you discuss your design and development process
rcknight 14y ago
Really like the app, when i searched in the app store i noticed there was another similar - "Habits pro" i think? Luckily for you that one is pretty ugly and more expensive! Feature suggestion: It would be nice to be able to keep track of things that need doing multiple times per day - the example featured on your website of "drink 8 glasses of water" would be more useful if i could come back into the app and log each one so i don't lose count throughout the day! Also love the streak tracking, I have my habits logged and look forward to using it :)
- cignext 14y ago
  I've been using a similar app called Wonderful Day (http://www.wonderfuldayapp.com/ http://www.wonderfuldayapp.com/). Sadly the author refuses to acknowledge my issues and doesn't seem to work on them. This looks much more refined visually and functionally both. Will give it a try!
- rimantas 14y ago
  Well… http://www.snopes.com/medical/myths/8glasses.asp http://www.snopes.com/medical/myths/8glasses.asp
  - rcknight 14y ago
    Well ok maybe that was a bad example (taken from the product site), but i still think there could be a use for "do this thing X times per day"
    - rimantas 14y ago
      > but i still think there could be a use for > "do this thing X times per day" Absolutely. I am not arguing with this point.
- toyg 14y ago
  There's an app called "Water" which does that, btw.
bretthopper 14y ago
Love the logo/app icon.
dysoco 14y ago
Looks really nice, the website looks awesome, and the App also does. Though, I can't try it because I'm an Android guy. Just two things: 1) 1.99$ ? Are you sure a "free app" isn't best ? 2) Post to blog is bad ? Uh ? :P
- swombat 14y ago
  How would he make money from a free app?
  - AngryParsley 14y ago
    Volume, man! Volume!
    - cannibal 14y ago
      0 * 1,000,000,000 is still 0
      - swombat 14y ago
        I think he knows that.
  - sgt 14y ago
    I'm sure many would agree with me; I'd rather pay for an app rather than seeing tons of ads on it.
- WA 14y ago
  I have the impression that the Android platform itself is less commercial, but I fail to grasp the reason for that. I also have an Android phone and not an iPhone and while I probably would have spend a couple bucks on apps on the iPhone, I actually never paid for an app in the Android store. So I just make the claim that "free on the App Store" is != "free on Google Play". Part of that might be simple fact that buying stuff on Google Play is different from buying things on the App Store. 1. You need to set up another account (Google checkout) 2. Biggest one: You can only pay via credit card with Google checkout. This plays a major role in European countries where credit cards are less common. I read reviews in Android apps saying "I'd love to buy, but I don't have a credit card". There's no gift card, no coupon code, no wire transfer or anything like that. Just my little unproven theory. So, people using the App Store have less problems on spending money on Apps than people on Android. And not only in terms of a more "financial thinking" but accessibility problems of doing the purchase. Edit: added last sentence.
benihana 14y ago
Minor thing: The iPhone on the site with the app shown on the screen - the low battery percentage, the alarm icon, the odd time and the AT&T icon are all kind of distracting to me. I know it has nothing to do with the actual app, but 11:53 is not a pretty number to look at, nor is 23%. The battery icon is over 3/4 empty which instantly causes me a little bit of anxiety - I'm worried that my phone is dying, not looking at the pretty app interface. Everything else seems really polished, but those were the first things I noticed, and they distracted me enough to post something here. Other than that, the app and the features look great.
- zacharytamas 14y ago
  I thought the same thing. I even had to turn off the percentage showing on mine so I would stop obsessing over it.
- sgt 14y ago
  And I thought I was the only one, regarding the battery percentage. It gave me a slight panic feeling. Better change that to 100% for that nice fuzzy warm feeling that this application doesn't suck your battery reserves dry.
- wushupork 14y ago
  It's funny how things like this that has nothing to do with the actual app has an effect on your overall impression of the app.
  - iamben 14y ago
    Absolutely. My favourite is still watch ads - when I realised the watch hands are always (99% of the time) at 10 and 2 - it looks smiley - seeing a watch ad with hands in a different position was very jarring. Odd, isn't it?
- nanijoe 14y ago
  Serious question..do those factors affect your buying decision?
swombat 14y ago
Bought. Looking forward to using it. Edit: Some thoughts: - Reminder probably doesn't need minute-by-minute granularity... 10 minute increments are probably fine and easier to scroll through. - How about a "random time during the day" reminder?
- 8ig8 14y ago
  > How about a "random time during the day" reminder? I'd really like that. In the past, I've set up manual recurring reminders to go off at the same time during the day. When I got used to the reminder schedule, I started ignoring them.
  - swombat 14y ago
    I'd also like it to start giving stronger and more annoying reminders the longer I've ignored a "habit".
dave1619 14y ago
Love the website design. Who designed it?
- followben 14y ago
  Looks like this fella designed the app: http://dribbble.com/scottdunlap http://dribbble.com/scottdunlap No idea if he did the website though.
  - ggualberto 14y ago
    Scott and I worked on all of this together. He designed the site too.
    - aymeric 14y ago
      What sort of agreement did you have with him? Did you pay him or are you guys sharing profits?
      - scottdunlap 14y ago
        We are partners in crime. You could say he handles code and I handle design, but that's simplifying things. We worked closely throughout the whole process.
        aymeric 14y ago
        You guys are lucky. I wish I could be working with an entrepreneurial designer. It would step up the quality of my apps (ex: http://weekplan.net http://weekplan.net). Where did you guys meet? Online? Offline?
nirvana 14y ago
Congrats! Building this has long been on my list of "rainy day projects". You've done a much better job of it, though, than I intended. One suggestion- I'd make a setting for letting you change the "Today" font from the handwriting one to a sans-serif one, like the rest of the app uses. I think the handwriting is very pretty and adds good production value, and so I'd keep it in the app, and certainly in the screenshots, etc, but for day to day use, wanting to turn that off would be an irritant every time I opened the app. You're kinda mixing skeuomorphism with modernism in your design, which is a natural result of making real world analogs on iPhones, but the one place it hasn't seemed to blend well is that font. Great looking app, and especially the icon is really well done. Good luck!
- maximegarcia 14y ago
  I'd love to know what is this handwriting font. Anyone knows ?
  - deleted 14y ago
    [deleted]
  - iamben 14y ago
    dearJoe 2 - http://www.myfonts.com/fonts/joebob/dear-joe-2/regular/ http://www.myfonts.com/fonts/joebob/dear-joe-2/regular/ :-)
    - maximegarcia 14y ago
      Thx :)
- pud 14y ago
  I really like the handwriting font. In my mind, it sets this app apart from the drudgery of the email and to-do list apps on my phone.
  - scottdunlap 14y ago
    We made a decision to go with a handwritten font for that reason. It is gratifying to cross items off a list, putting pen to paper, so we tried to mimic that with the font and swipe action. That said, we totally understand wanting to use a sans serif. Helvetica and other options may be in a future release.
imaan988 14y ago
Android next? I'd love an app like this.
kral 14y ago
I can't try it, 'cause I'm on Android but it's a really nice idea! Good work and good luck!
cignext 14y ago
Bought. Love the interface! It fixes most of the issues I had with Wonderful Day App (Review: http://woikr.com/iphone/wonderful-day-for-iphone-stay-motivated-every-single-day-review/ http://woikr.com/iphone/wonderful-day-for-iphone-stay-motiva...). Question: What happens if I go through a day without opening the app. Is the activity marked not done automatically? Suggestion: Tiny suggestion: Allow swiping in both directions. After using Sparrow I'm used to swipe left for most actions. Doesn't work here though.
deleted 14y ago
[deleted]
awolf 14y ago
Very nice start, I might start using this over my Streaks calendar app. One suggestion would be to add a passcode lock like Streaks has.
michaelmartin 14y ago
Just bought the app and I really like it. The interface is gorgeous, it's as plain and minimal as you could hope for, but with enough style to make it enjoyable to use. I think that you really nailed the "Frequency" settings, especially the "x times per week" section. It makes it so flexible. I've tried, but I can't think of anything I'd like added or changed. It's also very refreshing to use an app that doesn't have a "Settings" section. Looking forward to starting to use it!
tommi 14y ago
I have been using https://chains.cc/ https://chains.cc/ which is as far as I know the best web UI for "Don't break the chain" idea. However the lack of mobile app makes it harder to use and therefore I'm giving Habit List a try. Looks great! btw. for me, week starts on Monday.
- bvi 14y ago
  Pity. I get a "This connection is untrusted" message: http://imgur.com/aBV32 http://imgur.com/aBV32
- radikalus 14y ago
  It slightly terrifies me that all the most popular groups are variants of "No fap"
  - clone1018 14y ago
    http://www.reddit.com/r/nofap http://www.reddit.com/r/nofap
- dmragone 14y ago
  Good call on week start dates. I'd agree with you there
- ryankirkman 14y ago
  They seem to have a mobile app, as per the screenshot on their homepage. Besides a certificate error, it seems to work fine. https://m.chains.cc/ https://m.chains.cc/
gee_totes 14y ago
There are enough comment on here, so I'm going to give some critiques. I think you should change the calendar mockup. From the Xs on the calendar, I was reminded of Jerry Seinfeld's: "Don't break the chain"[0], an anecedote about how making a chain of Xs on a calendar is the best way to form a productive habit. Someone else mentioned it in the comments as well. However, the chain on the calendar is broken! Those users with the impression that this app will help them form a habit will be confused. If I'm making a big change in my life, I want to do something every day, not a piddling three times a week. The calendar mockup should change to at least one week with a full chain of Xs, so users won't get the subconscious impression that this app is incapable of helping them build a habit. Besides repairing the subliminal messages of failure, adding a full chain of Xs opens another avenue for 'gamification'. What if when you completed a full week of an unbroken chain, you received some type of bonus points or prize? Of course, these prizes would be in the form of a cool UI animation. Also, it's 2012: have you ever heard of a favicon? [0]: http://lifehacker.com/281626/jerry-seinfelds-productivity-secret http://lifehacker.com/281626/jerry-seinfelds-productivity-se...
- tommi 14y ago
  Habit changes can be big or small - they don't all have to huge life changing things. There are some things you might not want to do every day like going to the gym where rest period is as important as the actual training. The application seems to fit my use cases perfectly.
- nathanbarry 14y ago
  I wrote an app called Commit (http://thinklegend.com/commit http://thinklegend.com/commit) that is based around the "don't break the chain idea". It only allows you to do things on a daily basis (rather than M W F or something similar). This is probably the most common request I get from users, though in keeping with the original methodology I don't plan to add the feature. Now I think this Habit List looks fantastic and could be a great alternative for users that want that functionality. Well done!
- AndrewNoNumbers 14y ago
  Your note about using a cool UI animation as incentive is fascinating. Just. Fascinating. I know it would work on me.
mtraven 14y ago
Here's an Android app that looks kind of similar (but not half as pretty): https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=uk.amimetic.habitspro&hl=en https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=uk.amimetic.ha...
shadesandcolour 14y ago
You've done an awesome job with this. The UI is gorgeous and it looks like you didn't lose any functionality with it. I really can't think of anything to critique you on. It seems like most of the criticism on this thread is very minor nitpick-y things. Especially this business about the battery percentage and the alarm icon and not having a favicon for your website... Seriously guys, he's asking for some comments on the app, not the way that it's mocked up on the website. Keep on hacking kid.
- followben 14y ago
  He's hardly a kid: http://receivebacon.org/resume.html http://receivebacon.org/resume.html
  - shadesandcolour 14y ago
    I didn't actually mean kid, it was just colloquial
sgaither 14y ago
This looks great. I'd buy it if I weren't so already tied to workflowy though.
jasonwilk 14y ago
Nice work. Very cool Product
Rudism 14y ago
I've actually been using this for several days now. I tried several similar apps before it and think this is by far the most usable. I like it a lot, but have one suggestion: there should be a way to go to a previous day's list view. I often don't get into the app until I'm in bed, which is sometimes after midnight, meaning I've now lost the current day's list and am actually looking at "tomorrow's" list instead. It's then a bit of a pain to go to the calendar view for each item I wanted to cross off an put an x for the previous day.
- otisfunkmeyer 14y ago
  I completely agree with this. This is essential for us night owls who consider 2AM today! I think the easiest way to fix this would be to give the ability to set the te when the day begins. For me, it's not 12 midnight, it's 10AM.
- ggualberto 14y ago
  Thanks! That's something we've been discussing doing for some time.
ZanderEarth32 14y ago
Very nice looking app dude. One question, what sets this apart from the Reminders app that comes with iOS already? Not trying to put you out, genuinely interested to see the advantage of your app so that maybe I can switch.
pipecork 14y ago
Wish it were on Android! This is a great idea that I already use on my physical calendar (a la Seinfeld). I can only see screenshots, but it looks like the font you chose wasn't meant to show statistics, evident in the "Completion Rate" percentage. The relative heights of the numbers and % sign don't parse very well, just a nitpick on my part.
wattjustin 14y ago
Great app! There's far too many to do list apps that I've used for something like this and Streaks was just okay. This is what I've been wanting. Great job on a great 1.0! My only question or suggestion, the reminder setup seems odd. If I choose every 3-5 days with a reminder at 6pm, does it remind me randomly, on the 5th day, on the 3rd? Making that a bit clearer or giving the option for choosing which day the reminder will be on would help there. Other than that, I hope others see the value in building habits like this as I think it's a well implemented way of helping people like me who are quite forgetful.
- scottdunlap 14y ago
  If a habit shows up on your today list, it will send a reminder. So for a 3-5 frequency, it will send it on the third day (and fourth/fifth if you don't complete it). I think that's the most intuitive approach, but maybe we'll find a spot on the website to make it more apparent. Appreciate the the kind words!
donniezazen 14y ago
I like your website and pictures of your app but I have Android.
rbxbx 14y ago
Does Habit List use iCloud to sync it's data across my devices?
- ggualberto 14y ago
  Not yet, but we're looking into that.
rvid 14y ago
I wish I could enter a value along with a tick.. to record how much I did something (say to track how much I slept).
- jonmb 14y ago
  I think there's a free app called GoalMaster that will let you enter a value. It's pretty slick too.
- richtbreak 14y ago
  I second that request.
brevityness 14y ago
A similar app iDoneThis (https://idonethis.com/ https://idonethis.com/). Requires a paid subscription though. -_-
- jonknee 14y ago
  No subscription needed for personal use: https://idonethis.com/accounts/register/personal/ https://idonethis.com/accounts/register/personal/
ya3r 14y ago
I was searching for something like this app. So far I like everything about it except the font, which makes it harder to read the tasks. As I use it I'll give you feedback, but for now, I like to be able to color code tasks.
- ya3r 14y ago
  Also my week starts at Saturday. I don't like it this way with no options.
mrblues 14y ago
Looks great. I was seeking for something like this
superamit 14y ago
Slick. Been using http://bud.ge/ http://bud.ge/ a lot lately and this looks like a nice complement. Purchased!
deleted 14y ago
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- deleted 14y ago
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- brown9-2 14y ago
  Did you by any chance post this comment in the wrong story?
  - deleted 14y ago
    [deleted]
socceruci 14y ago
I love the design factor and simplicity to get 1 thing done right. Good job!
chadk 14y ago
Great concept and execution. Love the icon!
pud 14y ago
Brilliant. Thanks for making this app. Downloading now and I will tell my friends about it.
brackin 14y ago
Genius. I've been looking for something like this so will buy shortly! Make it universal so that I can use it on my iPad, the device that I use for apps like this.
dmotz 14y ago
Very similar to the first app I released for iOS called ChainCal ( http://chaincalapp.com http://chaincalapp.com ). That said, competition is healthy and important to keeping an ecosystem moving. Well done execution on Habit List. ChainCal has a new version pending review right now for those interested in comparing the two approaches.
- wam 14y ago
  I've been using ChainCal for a few weeks and it's great. Beautiful and intuitive interface.
lmarinho 14y ago
Love the app, congrats! I will start using it this week and see how it goes. My only gripe with it is related with responsiveness to touch: if I tap on '+' or on 'View all habits', the button doesn't highlight. This can feel frustrating if the next screen takes a while to load and you don't know if your touch was valid or not. This problem happens with almost every button in the app.
gurkendoktor 14y ago
Lots of gold in this thread. The Chain app I use is not worth mentioning, but for habits I use this: http://www.homeroutines.com/ http://www.homeroutines.com/ I actually prefer its cheerful design and it has an iPad version. But the integrated Chain counting might convince me.
sambe 14y ago
Liking it a lot so far - but one suggestion: frequency options are good, but there is nothing available for >daily. Workaround is multiple items, I guess.
duhh1234 14y ago
the icon looks a lot like visual studio's if fact I thought it was a link to the windows phone marketplace or something :-p
malloreon 14y ago
Beautiful interface design - how do you go about designing and implementing a look like that? When I make iOS apps they all use the default controls suppled in XCode. I'd like to learn to make nice looking interfaces.
jonmb 14y ago
Great job! I typically use JoesGoals.com, but it doesn't have an iPhone app. Your app looks perfect for this.
nyrb 14y ago
Congrats! I have been using this Streaks (iOS) for a while since I like the functionality of this and it has options where you can skip weekends: http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/streaks-motivational-calendar/id345184462?mt=8 http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/streaks-motivational-calendar... I will try this app now!
lostoptimist 14y ago
I just began using this today and I really enjoy. I wonder if you've considered the negation of a habit? i.e. I love eating donuts but need to cut back on them so I would only like to eat one a week. I've set this up as "Didn't eat a donut today" with this repeating 6 times a week. What about keeping track of "bad habits" and set maximums?
delosfuegos 14y ago
Congrats! Very sleek design and intuitive interface. However, I do think that $2 is a bit on the expensive side for a simple app like this. I would suggest that you find some way to figure out where the ideal price point would be for your customers. (price * sales) - (cost * sales)
betageek 14y ago
This is very nearly exactly what I was looking for, couple of things: Small UI crit: When adding a Habit, the cancel button is in the top left position on the Add a Habit screen - everywhere else in the app this position is a non-destructive navigation button so I accidentally cancelled events I was in the middle of creating a couple of times. It would probably be better to make this navigate back to the Today screen & auto-create the event and put the cancel button somewhere else. Couple of feature requests: * ability to make the reminder an modal alert view rather than a message - too easy to miss a non-intrusive alert * ability to snooze a reminder - if I'm busy sometimes I can't do the thing I'm being reminded right now but don't want to forget to do it, if I could 'snooze' the reminder in the alert view that would make me more likely to remember to do it
rmb177 14y ago
Very nice! I have a similar app for the iPhone and your UX/UI is much nicer and more intuitive.
antoinevg 14y ago
Bought. This is something I've been wanting since electronic personal organizers became a product category. Thank you!
jdoody 14y ago
Hey I bought the app and I really like it. One suggestion would be some way to track daily partials of a habit. For example the drink 8 glasses of water a day. I would like to be able to click somewhere on the app each time i drink a glass of water and have it increase so I can track that and see that on tuesday i met 75% of the particular goal.
quadrant 14y ago
Loving the app, but all of a sudden today one of my streaks went to -4 and another -2 even though I've only been using it for 48 hours... I'll send in an email with details.
ralphb 14y ago
The app seems to have lost my data, all my streaks reset to zero. Now that's a bit of motivational catastrophe - something I don't think you EVER want to have happen. Anybody else experience something similar?
- quadrant 14y ago
  Not quite, just negative numbers when the task is set to 3 or 5 days as week.
callmevlad 14y ago
Very useful (and beautiful) app! One thing I've noticed is that it shows me an alert/reminder even if I've already crossed off that habit for the day - would be nice if it detected that a reminder is no longer needed.
- noinput 14y ago
  +1, I have a daily habit that I do in the morning, and the alarm is set for later than I usually finish it incase I forget, however after complete for the day I still get the alarm. * really liking the app so-far.
daemon13 14y ago
Bought it, use it, enjoy it. Wishlist - some habits may require several tasks during the day. For example "Drink 5 glasses of water" - would be great to schedule 5 micro-events during the day with possibility to cross those.

282 points by ggualberto 14y ago

freshfey 14y ago

Beautiful. May I ask what resources you used to learn iOS hacking? Also: What's that font?

btipling 14y ago
DroidSerif Italic. You can check it with your browser.
chrisa 14y ago
For learning iOS I'd definitely recommend the free Stanford lectures on iTunes U: http://itunes.apple.com/itunes-u/ipad-iphone-application-development/id473757255 http://itunes.apple.com/itunes-u/ipad-iphone-application-dev...
ggualberto 14y ago
As someone pointed out elsewhere, I've hacking for a while. I was just new to iOS. The big hurdle was getting up to speed with Cocoa. Apple's documentation was the best resource for that.

frou_dh 14y ago

The visual design looks great. I'm a fan of such "streak" based tracking (aka Seinfeld Calendar). Looking at it can mentally transport you back to the last time things went wrong and remind you that it wasn't worth it (because you went back on track). Do you have a way to export the recorded data? That's something that bothers me about this kind of iOS app: the data might still be useful after you eventually stop using the app or even iOS. It could be as simple as sending XML or CSV via the on-device email.

parley 14y ago
This! Offering data export functionality (API or otherwise) is what allows data portability nuts like me to use things like Read It later/Evernote/whatever without cringing a bit in fear of losing the data for any number of reasons. The probability of needing it doesn't factor into my gut feelings, just the (miniscule?) risk of it. ;o) Have already started using your app though, it looks very nice!
ggualberto 14y ago
That's a good idea. I'm going to add that to the road map.

iamben 14y ago

This is a great idea. Would love to see it on Android.

enan 14y ago
I made something similar for android for my needs - although it is not as pretty :) https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.appsmithy.activitylog&hl=en https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.appsmithy....

Whitespace 14y ago

I've used streaks before, but I never liked how the interface didn't tell me what I had to do /today/ to maintain my streaks. Your app seems to solve this, so you've got a customer. Also, great design! Are you tracking conversions?

gumpieza 14y ago

Very nice.. Well done. Any tips on the best ways to get into the market? For example could you discuss your design and development process

rcknight 14y ago

Really like the app, when i searched in the app store i noticed there was another similar - "Habits pro" i think? Luckily for you that one is pretty ugly and more expensive! Feature suggestion: It would be nice to be able to keep track of things that need doing multiple times per day - the example featured on your website of "drink 8 glasses of water" would be more useful if i could come back into the app and log each one so i don't lose count throughout the day! Also love the streak tracking, I have my habits logged and look forward to using it :)

cignext 14y ago
I've been using a similar app called Wonderful Day (http://www.wonderfuldayapp.com/ http://www.wonderfuldayapp.com/). Sadly the author refuses to acknowledge my issues and doesn't seem to work on them. This looks much more refined visually and functionally both. Will give it a try!
rimantas 14y ago
Well… http://www.snopes.com/medical/myths/8glasses.asp http://www.snopes.com/medical/myths/8glasses.asp
- rcknight 14y ago
  Well ok maybe that was a bad example (taken from the product site), but i still think there could be a use for "do this thing X times per day"
  - rimantas 14y ago
    > but i still think there could be a use for > "do this thing X times per day" Absolutely. I am not arguing with this point.
toyg 14y ago
There's an app called "Water" which does that, btw.

bretthopper 14y ago

Love the logo/app icon.

dysoco 14y ago

Looks really nice, the website looks awesome, and the App also does. Though, I can't try it because I'm an Android guy. Just two things: 1) 1.99$ ? Are you sure a "free app" isn't best ? 2) Post to blog is bad ? Uh ? :P

swombat 14y ago
How would he make money from a free app?
- AngryParsley 14y ago
  Volume, man! Volume!
  - cannibal 14y ago
    0 * 1,000,000,000 is still 0
    - swombat 14y ago
      I think he knows that.
- sgt 14y ago
  I'm sure many would agree with me; I'd rather pay for an app rather than seeing tons of ads on it.
WA 14y ago
I have the impression that the Android platform itself is less commercial, but I fail to grasp the reason for that. I also have an Android phone and not an iPhone and while I probably would have spend a couple bucks on apps on the iPhone, I actually never paid for an app in the Android store. So I just make the claim that "free on the App Store" is != "free on Google Play". Part of that might be simple fact that buying stuff on Google Play is different from buying things on the App Store. 1. You need to set up another account (Google checkout) 2. Biggest one: You can only pay via credit card with Google checkout. This plays a major role in European countries where credit cards are less common. I read reviews in Android apps saying "I'd love to buy, but I don't have a credit card". There's no gift card, no coupon code, no wire transfer or anything like that. Just my little unproven theory. So, people using the App Store have less problems on spending money on Apps than people on Android. And not only in terms of a more "financial thinking" but accessibility problems of doing the purchase. Edit: added last sentence.

benihana 14y ago

Minor thing: The iPhone on the site with the app shown on the screen - the low battery percentage, the alarm icon, the odd time and the AT&T icon are all kind of distracting to me. I know it has nothing to do with the actual app, but 11:53 is not a pretty number to look at, nor is 23%. The battery icon is over 3/4 empty which instantly causes me a little bit of anxiety - I'm worried that my phone is dying, not looking at the pretty app interface. Everything else seems really polished, but those were the first things I noticed, and they distracted me enough to post something here. Other than that, the app and the features look great.

zacharytamas 14y ago
I thought the same thing. I even had to turn off the percentage showing on mine so I would stop obsessing over it.
sgt 14y ago
And I thought I was the only one, regarding the battery percentage. It gave me a slight panic feeling. Better change that to 100% for that nice fuzzy warm feeling that this application doesn't suck your battery reserves dry.
wushupork 14y ago
It's funny how things like this that has nothing to do with the actual app has an effect on your overall impression of the app.
- iamben 14y ago
  Absolutely. My favourite is still watch ads - when I realised the watch hands are always (99% of the time) at 10 and 2 - it looks smiley - seeing a watch ad with hands in a different position was very jarring. Odd, isn't it?
nanijoe 14y ago
Serious question..do those factors affect your buying decision?

swombat 14y ago

Bought. Looking forward to using it. Edit: Some thoughts: - Reminder probably doesn't need minute-by-minute granularity... 10 minute increments are probably fine and easier to scroll through. - How about a "random time during the day" reminder?

8ig8 14y ago
> How about a "random time during the day" reminder? I'd really like that. In the past, I've set up manual recurring reminders to go off at the same time during the day. When I got used to the reminder schedule, I started ignoring them.
- swombat 14y ago
  I'd also like it to start giving stronger and more annoying reminders the longer I've ignored a "habit".

dave1619 14y ago

Love the website design. Who designed it?

followben 14y ago
Looks like this fella designed the app: http://dribbble.com/scottdunlap http://dribbble.com/scottdunlap No idea if he did the website though.
- ggualberto 14y ago
  Scott and I worked on all of this together. He designed the site too.
  - aymeric 14y ago
    What sort of agreement did you have with him? Did you pay him or are you guys sharing profits?
    - scottdunlap 14y ago
      We are partners in crime. You could say he handles code and I handle design, but that's simplifying things. We worked closely throughout the whole process.
      - aymeric 14y ago
        You guys are lucky. I wish I could be working with an entrepreneurial designer. It would step up the quality of my apps (ex: http://weekplan.net http://weekplan.net). Where did you guys meet? Online? Offline?

nirvana 14y ago

Congrats! Building this has long been on my list of "rainy day projects". You've done a much better job of it, though, than I intended. One suggestion- I'd make a setting for letting you change the "Today" font from the handwriting one to a sans-serif one, like the rest of the app uses. I think the handwriting is very pretty and adds good production value, and so I'd keep it in the app, and certainly in the screenshots, etc, but for day to day use, wanting to turn that off would be an irritant every time I opened the app. You're kinda mixing skeuomorphism with modernism in your design, which is a natural result of making real world analogs on iPhones, but the one place it hasn't seemed to blend well is that font. Great looking app, and especially the icon is really well done. Good luck!

maximegarcia 14y ago
I'd love to know what is this handwriting font. Anyone knows ?
- deleted 14y ago
  [deleted]
- iamben 14y ago
  dearJoe 2 - http://www.myfonts.com/fonts/joebob/dear-joe-2/regular/ http://www.myfonts.com/fonts/joebob/dear-joe-2/regular/ :-)
  - maximegarcia 14y ago
    Thx :)
pud 14y ago
I really like the handwriting font. In my mind, it sets this app apart from the drudgery of the email and to-do list apps on my phone.
- scottdunlap 14y ago
  We made a decision to go with a handwritten font for that reason. It is gratifying to cross items off a list, putting pen to paper, so we tried to mimic that with the font and swipe action. That said, we totally understand wanting to use a sans serif. Helvetica and other options may be in a future release.

imaan988 14y ago

Android next? I'd love an app like this.

kral 14y ago

I can't try it, 'cause I'm on Android but it's a really nice idea! Good work and good luck!

cignext 14y ago

Bought. Love the interface! It fixes most of the issues I had with Wonderful Day App (Review: http://woikr.com/iphone/wonderful-day-for-iphone-stay-motivated-every-single-day-review/ http://woikr.com/iphone/wonderful-day-for-iphone-stay-motiva...). Question: What happens if I go through a day without opening the app. Is the activity marked not done automatically? Suggestion: Tiny suggestion: Allow swiping in both directions. After using Sparrow I'm used to swipe left for most actions. Doesn't work here though.

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awolf 14y ago

Very nice start, I might start using this over my Streaks calendar app. One suggestion would be to add a passcode lock like Streaks has.

michaelmartin 14y ago

Just bought the app and I really like it. The interface is gorgeous, it's as plain and minimal as you could hope for, but with enough style to make it enjoyable to use. I think that you really nailed the "Frequency" settings, especially the "x times per week" section. It makes it so flexible. I've tried, but I can't think of anything I'd like added or changed. It's also very refreshing to use an app that doesn't have a "Settings" section. Looking forward to starting to use it!

tommi 14y ago

I have been using https://chains.cc/ https://chains.cc/ which is as far as I know the best web UI for "Don't break the chain" idea. However the lack of mobile app makes it harder to use and therefore I'm giving Habit List a try. Looks great! btw. for me, week starts on Monday.

bvi 14y ago
Pity. I get a "This connection is untrusted" message: http://imgur.com/aBV32 http://imgur.com/aBV32
radikalus 14y ago
It slightly terrifies me that all the most popular groups are variants of "No fap"
- clone1018 14y ago
  http://www.reddit.com/r/nofap http://www.reddit.com/r/nofap
dmragone 14y ago
Good call on week start dates. I'd agree with you there
ryankirkman 14y ago
They seem to have a mobile app, as per the screenshot on their homepage. Besides a certificate error, it seems to work fine. https://m.chains.cc/ https://m.chains.cc/

gee_totes 14y ago

There are enough comment on here, so I'm going to give some critiques. I think you should change the calendar mockup. From the Xs on the calendar, I was reminded of Jerry Seinfeld's: "Don't break the chain"[0], an anecedote about how making a chain of Xs on a calendar is the best way to form a productive habit. Someone else mentioned it in the comments as well. However, the chain on the calendar is broken! Those users with the impression that this app will help them form a habit will be confused. If I'm making a big change in my life, I want to do something every day, not a piddling three times a week. The calendar mockup should change to at least one week with a full chain of Xs, so users won't get the subconscious impression that this app is incapable of helping them build a habit. Besides repairing the subliminal messages of failure, adding a full chain of Xs opens another avenue for 'gamification'. What if when you completed a full week of an unbroken chain, you received some type of bonus points or prize? Of course, these prizes would be in the form of a cool UI animation. Also, it's 2012: have you ever heard of a favicon? [0]: http://lifehacker.com/281626/jerry-seinfelds-productivity-secret http://lifehacker.com/281626/jerry-seinfelds-productivity-se...

tommi 14y ago
Habit changes can be big or small - they don't all have to huge life changing things. There are some things you might not want to do every day like going to the gym where rest period is as important as the actual training. The application seems to fit my use cases perfectly.
nathanbarry 14y ago
I wrote an app called Commit (http://thinklegend.com/commit http://thinklegend.com/commit) that is based around the "don't break the chain idea". It only allows you to do things on a daily basis (rather than M W F or something similar). This is probably the most common request I get from users, though in keeping with the original methodology I don't plan to add the feature. Now I think this Habit List looks fantastic and could be a great alternative for users that want that functionality. Well done!
AndrewNoNumbers 14y ago
Your note about using a cool UI animation as incentive is fascinating. Just. Fascinating. I know it would work on me.

mtraven 14y ago

Here's an Android app that looks kind of similar (but not half as pretty): https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=uk.amimetic.habitspro&hl=en https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=uk.amimetic.ha...

shadesandcolour 14y ago

You've done an awesome job with this. The UI is gorgeous and it looks like you didn't lose any functionality with it. I really can't think of anything to critique you on. It seems like most of the criticism on this thread is very minor nitpick-y things. Especially this business about the battery percentage and the alarm icon and not having a favicon for your website... Seriously guys, he's asking for some comments on the app, not the way that it's mocked up on the website. Keep on hacking kid.

followben 14y ago
He's hardly a kid: http://receivebacon.org/resume.html http://receivebacon.org/resume.html
- shadesandcolour 14y ago
  I didn't actually mean kid, it was just colloquial

sgaither 14y ago

This looks great. I'd buy it if I weren't so already tied to workflowy though.

jasonwilk 14y ago

Nice work. Very cool Product

Rudism 14y ago

I've actually been using this for several days now. I tried several similar apps before it and think this is by far the most usable. I like it a lot, but have one suggestion: there should be a way to go to a previous day's list view. I often don't get into the app until I'm in bed, which is sometimes after midnight, meaning I've now lost the current day's list and am actually looking at "tomorrow's" list instead. It's then a bit of a pain to go to the calendar view for each item I wanted to cross off an put an x for the previous day.

otisfunkmeyer 14y ago
I completely agree with this. This is essential for us night owls who consider 2AM today! I think the easiest way to fix this would be to give the ability to set the te when the day begins. For me, it's not 12 midnight, it's 10AM.
ggualberto 14y ago
Thanks! That's something we've been discussing doing for some time.

ZanderEarth32 14y ago

Very nice looking app dude. One question, what sets this apart from the Reminders app that comes with iOS already? Not trying to put you out, genuinely interested to see the advantage of your app so that maybe I can switch.

pipecork 14y ago

Wish it were on Android! This is a great idea that I already use on my physical calendar (a la Seinfeld). I can only see screenshots, but it looks like the font you chose wasn't meant to show statistics, evident in the "Completion Rate" percentage. The relative heights of the numbers and % sign don't parse very well, just a nitpick on my part.

wattjustin 14y ago

Great app! There's far too many to do list apps that I've used for something like this and Streaks was just okay. This is what I've been wanting. Great job on a great 1.0! My only question or suggestion, the reminder setup seems odd. If I choose every 3-5 days with a reminder at 6pm, does it remind me randomly, on the 5th day, on the 3rd? Making that a bit clearer or giving the option for choosing which day the reminder will be on would help there. Other than that, I hope others see the value in building habits like this as I think it's a well implemented way of helping people like me who are quite forgetful.

scottdunlap 14y ago
If a habit shows up on your today list, it will send a reminder. So for a 3-5 frequency, it will send it on the third day (and fourth/fifth if you don't complete it). I think that's the most intuitive approach, but maybe we'll find a spot on the website to make it more apparent. Appreciate the the kind words!

donniezazen 14y ago

I like your website and pictures of your app but I have Android.

rbxbx 14y ago

Does Habit List use iCloud to sync it's data across my devices?

ggualberto 14y ago
Not yet, but we're looking into that.

rvid 14y ago

I wish I could enter a value along with a tick.. to record how much I did something (say to track how much I slept).

jonmb 14y ago
I think there's a free app called GoalMaster that will let you enter a value. It's pretty slick too.
richtbreak 14y ago
I second that request.

brevityness 14y ago

A similar app iDoneThis (https://idonethis.com/ https://idonethis.com/). Requires a paid subscription though. -_-

jonknee 14y ago
No subscription needed for personal use: https://idonethis.com/accounts/register/personal/ https://idonethis.com/accounts/register/personal/

ya3r 14y ago

I was searching for something like this app. So far I like everything about it except the font, which makes it harder to read the tasks. As I use it I'll give you feedback, but for now, I like to be able to color code tasks.

ya3r 14y ago
Also my week starts at Saturday. I don't like it this way with no options.

mrblues 14y ago

Looks great. I was seeking for something like this

superamit 14y ago

Slick. Been using http://bud.ge/ http://bud.ge/ a lot lately and this looks like a nice complement. Purchased!

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brown9-2 14y ago
Did you by any chance post this comment in the wrong story?
- deleted 14y ago
  [deleted]

socceruci 14y ago

I love the design factor and simplicity to get 1 thing done right. Good job!

chadk 14y ago

Great concept and execution. Love the icon!

pud 14y ago

Brilliant. Thanks for making this app. Downloading now and I will tell my friends about it.

brackin 14y ago

Genius. I've been looking for something like this so will buy shortly! Make it universal so that I can use it on my iPad, the device that I use for apps like this.

dmotz 14y ago

Very similar to the first app I released for iOS called ChainCal ( http://chaincalapp.com http://chaincalapp.com ). That said, competition is healthy and important to keeping an ecosystem moving. Well done execution on Habit List. ChainCal has a new version pending review right now for those interested in comparing the two approaches.

wam 14y ago
I've been using ChainCal for a few weeks and it's great. Beautiful and intuitive interface.

lmarinho 14y ago

Love the app, congrats! I will start using it this week and see how it goes. My only gripe with it is related with responsiveness to touch: if I tap on '+' or on 'View all habits', the button doesn't highlight. This can feel frustrating if the next screen takes a while to load and you don't know if your touch was valid or not. This problem happens with almost every button in the app.

gurkendoktor 14y ago

Lots of gold in this thread. The Chain app I use is not worth mentioning, but for habits I use this: http://www.homeroutines.com/ http://www.homeroutines.com/ I actually prefer its cheerful design and it has an iPad version. But the integrated Chain counting might convince me.

sambe 14y ago

Liking it a lot so far - but one suggestion: frequency options are good, but there is nothing available for >daily. Workaround is multiple items, I guess.

duhh1234 14y ago

the icon looks a lot like visual studio's if fact I thought it was a link to the windows phone marketplace or something :-p

malloreon 14y ago

Beautiful interface design - how do you go about designing and implementing a look like that? When I make iOS apps they all use the default controls suppled in XCode. I'd like to learn to make nice looking interfaces.

jonmb 14y ago

Great job! I typically use JoesGoals.com, but it doesn't have an iPhone app. Your app looks perfect for this.

nyrb 14y ago

Congrats! I have been using this Streaks (iOS) for a while since I like the functionality of this and it has options where you can skip weekends: http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/streaks-motivational-calendar/id345184462?mt=8 http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/streaks-motivational-calendar... I will try this app now!

lostoptimist 14y ago

I just began using this today and I really enjoy. I wonder if you've considered the negation of a habit? i.e. I love eating donuts but need to cut back on them so I would only like to eat one a week. I've set this up as "Didn't eat a donut today" with this repeating 6 times a week. What about keeping track of "bad habits" and set maximums?

delosfuegos 14y ago

Congrats! Very sleek design and intuitive interface. However, I do think that $2 is a bit on the expensive side for a simple app like this. I would suggest that you find some way to figure out where the ideal price point would be for your customers. (price * sales) - (cost * sales)

betageek 14y ago

This is very nearly exactly what I was looking for, couple of things: Small UI crit: When adding a Habit, the cancel button is in the top left position on the Add a Habit screen - everywhere else in the app this position is a non-destructive navigation button so I accidentally cancelled events I was in the middle of creating a couple of times. It would probably be better to make this navigate back to the Today screen & auto-create the event and put the cancel button somewhere else. Couple of feature requests: * ability to make the reminder an modal alert view rather than a message - too easy to miss a non-intrusive alert * ability to snooze a reminder - if I'm busy sometimes I can't do the thing I'm being reminded right now but don't want to forget to do it, if I could 'snooze' the reminder in the alert view that would make me more likely to remember to do it

rmb177 14y ago

Very nice! I have a similar app for the iPhone and your UX/UI is much nicer and more intuitive.

antoinevg 14y ago

Bought. This is something I've been wanting since electronic personal organizers became a product category. Thank you!

jdoody 14y ago

Hey I bought the app and I really like it. One suggestion would be some way to track daily partials of a habit. For example the drink 8 glasses of water a day. I would like to be able to click somewhere on the app each time i drink a glass of water and have it increase so I can track that and see that on tuesday i met 75% of the particular goal.

quadrant 14y ago

Loving the app, but all of a sudden today one of my streaks went to -4 and another -2 even though I've only been using it for 48 hours... I'll send in an email with details.

ralphb 14y ago

The app seems to have lost my data, all my streaks reset to zero. Now that's a bit of motivational catastrophe - something I don't think you EVER want to have happen. Anybody else experience something similar?

quadrant 14y ago
Not quite, just negative numbers when the task is set to 3 or 5 days as week.

callmevlad 14y ago

Very useful (and beautiful) app! One thing I've noticed is that it shows me an alert/reminder even if I've already crossed off that habit for the day - would be nice if it detected that a reminder is no longer needed.

noinput 14y ago
+1, I have a daily habit that I do in the morning, and the alarm is set for later than I usually finish it incase I forget, however after complete for the day I still get the alarm. * really liking the app so-far.

daemon13 14y ago

Bought it, use it, enjoy it. Wishlist - some habits may require several tasks during the day. For example "Drink 5 glasses of water" - would be great to schedule 5 micro-events during the day with possibility to cross those.