6 ms·

Show HN: Streaks, a todo list that helps you form good habits

51 points by qzervaas 11y ago

placeybordeaux 11y ago
Pretty disappointing seeing that this isn't just a website.
- gorn 11y ago
  Take a look at https://chains.cc/ https://chains.cc/
fierycatnet 11y ago
How does it compare to chains.cc, is it similar?
qzervaas 11y ago
I'm the developer: If you have any questions about Streaks I'll be here all day! Edit: For those interested, this is my first app written in Swift, and also my first app using HealthKit. I think HealthKit is pretty awesome and over the next few years, there will be a ton of apps using it in interesting ways.
- 650REDHAIR 11y ago
  Where was this months ago? This seems like a good balance of todos. Why 6 instead of 4,5, or 7?
  - qzervaas 11y ago
    Mainly because of the screen dimensions of most phones. I think the optimal amount is in the range of 4-7 as you point out, but it didn't look quite as nice. You can have less, but it encourages you to keep adding until you have six tasks. It came from my own needs where there's a few set tasks I need to do every day in my own business. It's not that I forget, but sometimes I'm lazy, and this motivates me to ensure they all get done, each day.
  - prawn 11y ago
    (Co-creator here.) We wanted a manageable number - something that wouldn't leave people skipping things nor trying to do too little. Like Twitter's 140 coming from SMS, this probably came mostly from the screen of the average phone, while still keeping the targets fat and satisfying to tick off. I showed the tick off process to my toddler early in the beta testing and he said "Again! Again!" Speaking of, I have Streaks on the toddler's phone with daily habits of things like reading, brushing teeth, helping clean up, listening well, etc. Very useful so far. I use it for walking more, working smarter, reading more, etc. I find it very motivating. While on holiday, I changed "Work on side project" to "Choose the healthy option". No other to-do app has stuck with me. I feel like this one works because it tackles a subset of the broader to-do landscape. Not one-offs, or dependent tasks but just regular things we all want to do more of or less of.
    - alttab 11y ago
      Could the fact that you are a co-creator have something to do with the sticking power? In any case, what does this satisfy that something like Habit RPG doesn't? I'll give you the "well, its simple" use case. Anything else?
      - prawn 11y ago
        Possibly. A counterpoint is that I have created many custom and private to-do apps and stuck with none of them! I find the Health integration with my walking target quite sticky and haven't seen that before. I'm not familiar with Habit RPG, but yes, the simplicity I think is important.
    - jessaustin 11y ago
      ...the toddler's phone... That is something I haven't seen. I feel like such an old fogey.
      - JshWright 11y ago
        It sure snuck up on me... My wife and I have a couple 'educational' games on our phones so we can hand them to our daughter on car rides, etc. When I upgraded my phone, we suddenly realized that our two year old was now the de facto owner of a Galaxy S4. It's bordering on disquieting to watch a two year old navigate a smartphone as adeptly as someone 10 times their age...
- quanticle 11y ago
  Not sure if you're still answering questions, but if you are, what distinguishes this app from HabitList (http://habitlist.com/ http://habitlist.com/)? Is there a reason that I should choose this app over HabitList? It seems like both apps are targeting very similar use cases. In any case, congratulations on shipping code!
  - qzervaas 11y ago
    Thanks, appreciate the kind words. We really tried to pull back the features as much as possible. We storyboarded complex stats charts, reports, being able to add in data for missed days, etc... but all that adds to complexity and technical debt It looks to me both apps target the same mindset, but with slightly different execution. Streaks limits the number of tasks and adds pretty icons, plus HealthKit integration, while it looks like HabitList puts a bigger focus on the reporting side of things.
- girvo 11y ago
  Impressive work, I nearly started building something like this myself a while back, glad to see someone else had the same idea.
Veratyr 11y ago
Looks cool but iPhone only means you're ruling out 70% of mobile users [0], including myself so it's a little disappointing. If you could move the App Store button to the top so it's clear it's limited to iOS that would be helpful to some of us I'm sure. [0] http://techcrunch.com/2014/02/23/kantar-smartphone-sales-android/ http://techcrunch.com/2014/02/23/kantar-smartphone-sales-and...
- qzervaas 11y ago
  Agreed, would be nice for an Android version. There were 3 main reasons why it's only iOS (in fact, iPhone) only (for now, at least): 1) I'm the sole developer, so it takes a long time to develop (this was about 3-4 months) 2) I really wanted to integrate health data. The step/distance tracking on iPhone and the Health app is perfect for this. 3) The price point lends itself moreso to iPhone users than Android users.
  - JshWright 11y ago
    I'd second the point about mentioning the fact that it's iOS only earlier in the landing page. I scrolled through the page, thinking it sounded really cool, only to be disappointed at the end...
  - alttab 11y ago
    #2: You are building a feature app on top of Apple's "Health" solution. They'll add streaks to their solution, and you're done. This feedback only matters if you are focused on making money long term on this. Essentially: what is your competitive advantage that you can actually sustain? Edit: I'm asking a legitimate question, you can stop down voting.
    - qzervaas 11y ago
      I upvoted you because I think it's good feedback. In actual fact, Apple have just shown their hand with this with the Apple Watch daily goals. It's somewhat similar, yet I think both can co-exist easily. In fact, I use both. Streaks doesn't rely on the Health app, but once the prototype was up and running it was clear the app was superior with HealthKit integration so it became a bigger part of the app. Apple are investing heavily in the health-related aspects of iOS. Your argument could be applied to any app that integrates with the Health app. (Side note: I also make public transport apps for iOS, so I'm well aware of how things can go, with all the rumours circling about transit announcements at WWDC)
baradoy 11y ago
This looks useful, particularly because I can set up my own Streaks to measure. I'll give you my $4.99 and let you know further thoughts.
- qzervaas 11y ago
  Thanks - I hope you get value out of it. Would love to hear your feedback after you've used it for a little while.
shakeel_mohamed 11y ago
This looks similar to coach.me, aside from the "hire a coach" aspect. Or, am I missing something?
- rickdale 11y ago
  Haven't checked out either site, but nothing wrong with a little competition.
- qzervaas 11y ago
  Just looking at that site now and how they pitch their product, I would say the difference is in how specific things are. Their example says "Get fit", whereas in Streaks you would have a task "Walk 5,000 Steps"
  - shakeel_mohamed 11y ago
    True. I actually use custom goals with Coach me, so I could totally make a specific task like that.
MichaelGlass 11y ago
what about http://streak.club http://streak.club ?
dantiberian 11y ago
This is great, just what I needed. The health integration is really good. Don't listen to the negativity here, it's a great app.
- therobot24 11y ago
  i agree, the simplicity is really nice
- JshWright 11y ago
  What negativity? The only pattern of 'complaint' I see in this thread is people who wished it supported Android as well. Isn't that just evidence that people think it's a good idea and would like to use it if they could?
source99 11y ago
I commend the effort and the app. I have 2 questions: 1. How is your app different than the dozens of habit forming apps out there? 2. What scientific research did you base your app on?
- qzervaas 11y ago
  Thanks! 1a. I find "Regular" todo apps get overwhelming after a point. I know this because I have about 10 different todo lists that currently aren't being completed 1b. The other apps like Streaks I personally don't think are simple enough. Either they show too much information or they don't compel me to complete tasks enough. There is a real feeling of satisfaction in Streaks simply by having to press-hold for half a second to complete a task. 2. I'm not going to profess to any scientific studies. Simply put, this is what works for me. I've been using it in prototype form since early February to scratch my own itch in relation to the daily tasks I need to complete
  - source99 11y ago
    If you do decide to put any science behind it I highly recommend this entertaining book on building habits - http://charlesduhigg.com/the-power-of-habit/ http://charlesduhigg.com/the-power-of-habit/
ra88it 11y ago
Neat! I purchased and spent a few minutes playing with it and I'm impressed with the general attention to detail. Seems like a solid app. Tangential criticism: the icon is visually unsatisfying. As in, it is graphically and logically correct, but visually it is like a song with the final note missing. Did you consider using a version with the circle closed? I think I understand the reasoning behind the unclosed circle, but I don't think it is worth the visual dissonance.
- qzervaas 11y ago
  Thanks - we had discussions about this exact issue. We wanted something that wasn't a checkmark in the icon. We played with another variation for quite some time but it didn't indicate anything related to tasks/completing something. I really like what Apple has done with the icon for iOS "Activity" app that accompanies the Apple Watch. That the conveys a similar message to what we're doing. (I do confess: I've tap-held our app icon from Springboard a few icons, which enables the app wiggle for rearranging apps)
exabrial 11y ago
Android version is whee?
actualdc1 11y ago
$1.99 I can see. $4.99 might be a bridge to far for me for an app with myriad free/less expensive competitors and limited complexity and functionality. That said, I love the idea.
bijoutop 11y ago
What habit is most often successfully formed? No idea if helps or hurts, but a "68% of people successfully started a <blank> habit" would be an interesting piece of cohort data to a person new to a habit/app.
grhmc 11y ago
Seems very similar to chaincalapp.com
meesterdude 11y ago
Congratulations on shipping! A big step for any project. Not much useful to say otherwise except... come back in a bit and update us on how your app is doing on the app store and such? Considering 60% of apps never get downloaded, I'm at least curious where your app falls in; if it proves to have been worth the effort or not when everything is hindsight.
kdamken 11y ago
Cool concept! Unfortunately though it seems like you may have chosen a terrible pricing model for it. There's no way I'd pay $5 upfront for something I'm not sure I'd even really need and would just want to try out. You should think about offering a "lite" version that tracks your streaks for 2 weeks or so, then if someone wants to track them longer they'd have to upgrade.
benrmatthews 11y ago
Related study from 2013 [1]: "Unfortunately, too many well-intentioned products fail because they feel like “haftas,” things people are obligated to do, as opposed to things they “wanna” do. Schell points to neuroscience research showing “there are different channels in the brain for seeking positive consequences and avoiding negative consequences.” "When faced with “haftas,” our brains register them as punishments so we take shortcuts, cheat, skip-out, or in the case of many apps or websites, uninstall them or click away in order to escape the discomfort of feeling controlled." [1] http://www.nirandfar.com/2013/07/why-behavior-change-apps-fail-to-change-behavior.html http://www.nirandfar.com/2013/07/why-behavior-change-apps-fa...
adam_albrecht 11y ago
Looks really nice but I've found that apps like this aren't incentivizing enough to be useful in the long term. I use Beeminder, which isn't nearly as nice-looking or user-friendly as Steaks appears to be, but its financial incentives work phenomenally well. If you're serious about keeping (or breaking) a habit, you check them out. And competitors, you should copy some of their features.
chocolateboy 11y ago
The UI looks slick. I prefer the look of it to the one I've used. [1] A good keyword for finding these "Don't break the chain" [2] apps on Android is "Seinfeld". [3] [1] https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=se.lixi.mychain https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=se.lixi.mychai... [2] http://lifehacker.com/281626/jerry-seinfelds-productivity-secret http://lifehacker.com/281626/jerry-seinfelds-productivity-se... [3] https://play.google.com/store/search?q=seinfeld%20chain|habit&c=apps https://play.google.com/store/search?q=seinfeld%20chain|habi...

51 points by qzervaas 11y ago

placeybordeaux 11y ago

Pretty disappointing seeing that this isn't just a website.

gorn 11y ago
Take a look at https://chains.cc/ https://chains.cc/

fierycatnet 11y ago

How does it compare to chains.cc, is it similar?

qzervaas 11y ago

I'm the developer: If you have any questions about Streaks I'll be here all day! Edit: For those interested, this is my first app written in Swift, and also my first app using HealthKit. I think HealthKit is pretty awesome and over the next few years, there will be a ton of apps using it in interesting ways.

650REDHAIR 11y ago
Where was this months ago? This seems like a good balance of todos. Why 6 instead of 4,5, or 7?
- qzervaas 11y ago
  Mainly because of the screen dimensions of most phones. I think the optimal amount is in the range of 4-7 as you point out, but it didn't look quite as nice. You can have less, but it encourages you to keep adding until you have six tasks. It came from my own needs where there's a few set tasks I need to do every day in my own business. It's not that I forget, but sometimes I'm lazy, and this motivates me to ensure they all get done, each day.
- prawn 11y ago
  (Co-creator here.) We wanted a manageable number - something that wouldn't leave people skipping things nor trying to do too little. Like Twitter's 140 coming from SMS, this probably came mostly from the screen of the average phone, while still keeping the targets fat and satisfying to tick off. I showed the tick off process to my toddler early in the beta testing and he said "Again! Again!" Speaking of, I have Streaks on the toddler's phone with daily habits of things like reading, brushing teeth, helping clean up, listening well, etc. Very useful so far. I use it for walking more, working smarter, reading more, etc. I find it very motivating. While on holiday, I changed "Work on side project" to "Choose the healthy option". No other to-do app has stuck with me. I feel like this one works because it tackles a subset of the broader to-do landscape. Not one-offs, or dependent tasks but just regular things we all want to do more of or less of.
  - alttab 11y ago
    Could the fact that you are a co-creator have something to do with the sticking power? In any case, what does this satisfy that something like Habit RPG doesn't? I'll give you the "well, its simple" use case. Anything else?
    - prawn 11y ago
      Possibly. A counterpoint is that I have created many custom and private to-do apps and stuck with none of them! I find the Health integration with my walking target quite sticky and haven't seen that before. I'm not familiar with Habit RPG, but yes, the simplicity I think is important.
  - jessaustin 11y ago
    ...the toddler's phone... That is something I haven't seen. I feel like such an old fogey.
    - JshWright 11y ago
      It sure snuck up on me... My wife and I have a couple 'educational' games on our phones so we can hand them to our daughter on car rides, etc. When I upgraded my phone, we suddenly realized that our two year old was now the de facto owner of a Galaxy S4. It's bordering on disquieting to watch a two year old navigate a smartphone as adeptly as someone 10 times their age...
quanticle 11y ago
Not sure if you're still answering questions, but if you are, what distinguishes this app from HabitList (http://habitlist.com/ http://habitlist.com/)? Is there a reason that I should choose this app over HabitList? It seems like both apps are targeting very similar use cases. In any case, congratulations on shipping code!
- qzervaas 11y ago
  Thanks, appreciate the kind words. We really tried to pull back the features as much as possible. We storyboarded complex stats charts, reports, being able to add in data for missed days, etc... but all that adds to complexity and technical debt It looks to me both apps target the same mindset, but with slightly different execution. Streaks limits the number of tasks and adds pretty icons, plus HealthKit integration, while it looks like HabitList puts a bigger focus on the reporting side of things.
girvo 11y ago
Impressive work, I nearly started building something like this myself a while back, glad to see someone else had the same idea.

Veratyr 11y ago

Looks cool but iPhone only means you're ruling out 70% of mobile users [0], including myself so it's a little disappointing. If you could move the App Store button to the top so it's clear it's limited to iOS that would be helpful to some of us I'm sure. [0] http://techcrunch.com/2014/02/23/kantar-smartphone-sales-android/ http://techcrunch.com/2014/02/23/kantar-smartphone-sales-and...

qzervaas 11y ago
Agreed, would be nice for an Android version. There were 3 main reasons why it's only iOS (in fact, iPhone) only (for now, at least): 1) I'm the sole developer, so it takes a long time to develop (this was about 3-4 months) 2) I really wanted to integrate health data. The step/distance tracking on iPhone and the Health app is perfect for this. 3) The price point lends itself moreso to iPhone users than Android users.
- JshWright 11y ago
  I'd second the point about mentioning the fact that it's iOS only earlier in the landing page. I scrolled through the page, thinking it sounded really cool, only to be disappointed at the end...
- alttab 11y ago
  #2: You are building a feature app on top of Apple's "Health" solution. They'll add streaks to their solution, and you're done. This feedback only matters if you are focused on making money long term on this. Essentially: what is your competitive advantage that you can actually sustain? Edit: I'm asking a legitimate question, you can stop down voting.
  - qzervaas 11y ago
    I upvoted you because I think it's good feedback. In actual fact, Apple have just shown their hand with this with the Apple Watch daily goals. It's somewhat similar, yet I think both can co-exist easily. In fact, I use both. Streaks doesn't rely on the Health app, but once the prototype was up and running it was clear the app was superior with HealthKit integration so it became a bigger part of the app. Apple are investing heavily in the health-related aspects of iOS. Your argument could be applied to any app that integrates with the Health app. (Side note: I also make public transport apps for iOS, so I'm well aware of how things can go, with all the rumours circling about transit announcements at WWDC)

baradoy 11y ago

This looks useful, particularly because I can set up my own Streaks to measure. I'll give you my $4.99 and let you know further thoughts.

qzervaas 11y ago
Thanks - I hope you get value out of it. Would love to hear your feedback after you've used it for a little while.

shakeel_mohamed 11y ago

This looks similar to coach.me, aside from the "hire a coach" aspect. Or, am I missing something?

rickdale 11y ago
Haven't checked out either site, but nothing wrong with a little competition.
qzervaas 11y ago
Just looking at that site now and how they pitch their product, I would say the difference is in how specific things are. Their example says "Get fit", whereas in Streaks you would have a task "Walk 5,000 Steps"
- shakeel_mohamed 11y ago
  True. I actually use custom goals with Coach me, so I could totally make a specific task like that.

MichaelGlass 11y ago

what about http://streak.club http://streak.club ?

dantiberian 11y ago

This is great, just what I needed. The health integration is really good. Don't listen to the negativity here, it's a great app.

therobot24 11y ago
i agree, the simplicity is really nice
JshWright 11y ago
What negativity? The only pattern of 'complaint' I see in this thread is people who wished it supported Android as well. Isn't that just evidence that people think it's a good idea and would like to use it if they could?

source99 11y ago

I commend the effort and the app. I have 2 questions: 1. How is your app different than the dozens of habit forming apps out there? 2. What scientific research did you base your app on?

qzervaas 11y ago
Thanks! 1a. I find "Regular" todo apps get overwhelming after a point. I know this because I have about 10 different todo lists that currently aren't being completed 1b. The other apps like Streaks I personally don't think are simple enough. Either they show too much information or they don't compel me to complete tasks enough. There is a real feeling of satisfaction in Streaks simply by having to press-hold for half a second to complete a task. 2. I'm not going to profess to any scientific studies. Simply put, this is what works for me. I've been using it in prototype form since early February to scratch my own itch in relation to the daily tasks I need to complete
- source99 11y ago
  If you do decide to put any science behind it I highly recommend this entertaining book on building habits - http://charlesduhigg.com/the-power-of-habit/ http://charlesduhigg.com/the-power-of-habit/

ra88it 11y ago

Neat! I purchased and spent a few minutes playing with it and I'm impressed with the general attention to detail. Seems like a solid app. Tangential criticism: the icon is visually unsatisfying. As in, it is graphically and logically correct, but visually it is like a song with the final note missing. Did you consider using a version with the circle closed? I think I understand the reasoning behind the unclosed circle, but I don't think it is worth the visual dissonance.

qzervaas 11y ago
Thanks - we had discussions about this exact issue. We wanted something that wasn't a checkmark in the icon. We played with another variation for quite some time but it didn't indicate anything related to tasks/completing something. I really like what Apple has done with the icon for iOS "Activity" app that accompanies the Apple Watch. That the conveys a similar message to what we're doing. (I do confess: I've tap-held our app icon from Springboard a few icons, which enables the app wiggle for rearranging apps)

exabrial 11y ago

Android version is whee?

actualdc1 11y ago

$1.99 I can see. $4.99 might be a bridge to far for me for an app with myriad free/less expensive competitors and limited complexity and functionality. That said, I love the idea.

bijoutop 11y ago

What habit is most often successfully formed? No idea if helps or hurts, but a "68% of people successfully started a <blank> habit" would be an interesting piece of cohort data to a person new to a habit/app.

grhmc 11y ago

Seems very similar to chaincalapp.com

meesterdude 11y ago

Congratulations on shipping! A big step for any project. Not much useful to say otherwise except... come back in a bit and update us on how your app is doing on the app store and such? Considering 60% of apps never get downloaded, I'm at least curious where your app falls in; if it proves to have been worth the effort or not when everything is hindsight.

kdamken 11y ago

Cool concept! Unfortunately though it seems like you may have chosen a terrible pricing model for it. There's no way I'd pay $5 upfront for something I'm not sure I'd even really need and would just want to try out. You should think about offering a "lite" version that tracks your streaks for 2 weeks or so, then if someone wants to track them longer they'd have to upgrade.

benrmatthews 11y ago

Related study from 2013 [1]: "Unfortunately, too many well-intentioned products fail because they feel like “haftas,” things people are obligated to do, as opposed to things they “wanna” do. Schell points to neuroscience research showing “there are different channels in the brain for seeking positive consequences and avoiding negative consequences.” "When faced with “haftas,” our brains register them as punishments so we take shortcuts, cheat, skip-out, or in the case of many apps or websites, uninstall them or click away in order to escape the discomfort of feeling controlled." [1] http://www.nirandfar.com/2013/07/why-behavior-change-apps-fail-to-change-behavior.html http://www.nirandfar.com/2013/07/why-behavior-change-apps-fa...

adam_albrecht 11y ago

Looks really nice but I've found that apps like this aren't incentivizing enough to be useful in the long term. I use Beeminder, which isn't nearly as nice-looking or user-friendly as Steaks appears to be, but its financial incentives work phenomenally well. If you're serious about keeping (or breaking) a habit, you check them out. And competitors, you should copy some of their features.

chocolateboy 11y ago

The UI looks slick. I prefer the look of it to the one I've used. [1] A good keyword for finding these "Don't break the chain" [2] apps on Android is "Seinfeld". [3] [1] https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=se.lixi.mychain https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=se.lixi.mychai... [2] http://lifehacker.com/281626/jerry-seinfelds-productivity-secret http://lifehacker.com/281626/jerry-seinfelds-productivity-se... [3] https://play.google.com/store/search?q=seinfeld%20chain|habit&c=apps https://play.google.com/store/search?q=seinfeld%20chain|habi...