What are /r/theXeffect's favorite Products & Services?

From 3.5 billion Reddit comments

I first started using theXeffect about 10 months ago with three cards:

• No more than one episode of television a day.
• Brush the dog and teach/rehearse tricks.
• Prep for morning routine the night before.

I was so surprised at how effectively I could pick up micro-habits and change my behaviour that I kept going.
Next I did meditation, learned the basics of a new language, and started going to bed earlier.

When this all went smoothly I decided that it's time to go big.
I've always wanted to be able to write apps, so I started doing research and learning how to program for Android.
I decided to make a X-effect clone. Yes there are tons out there, but I couldn't come up with anything original and it just seemed appropriate.
The app has been able to track my habit of working on the app for the last 79 days, and as of today it is on Google Play.

Edit
You guys are all amazing! The store listing had 36 views and 20 installs resulting from this post. Also 2 ratings/reviews and 1 bug report (which I managed to fix with only 2 users affected).

It's called Loop - Habit Tracker, best minimalistic and straightforward app I have ever used to track stuff, plenty of interesting stats and great widgets too

I'm not OP, but I've got some info you may find interesting:

There's a study that claims that Duolingo is more effective than learning at college or Rosetta Stone.

Also, it varies per person and per skill, but on average people get to an A2 level on the CEFR scale after completing a Duolingo course, according to this AMA.

So I would say it's pretty decent for getting started on a language, but you definitely need other resources to get more in depth within the language.

I use HabitBull and I love it!

Android

iOS

The app is called 7 Weeks! It's free and has a premium upgrade, but since I started the app with theXeffect you can get the upgrade for free with the code "theXeffect"! I'm the developer too so let me know if you have any questions!

Loop Habit tracker - It's great because it's very minimalistic in design which is great for the multiple cards I have and also has great stats.

7 Weeks! I'm also the developer so if you have any feedback or questions let me know! And if you're on iPhone, a version is coming soon!

I'm actually the developer for this app! The app is called 7 Weeks and is available on the Play Store here. If you have an iPhone, a version for that is coming soon! There are a lot of new features I'm adding soon so stay tuned :)

Thanks for the compliment. Here you go: http://www.filedropper.com/xeffect

If you enable macros, then you can just double-click on a date to cycle between Completed, Missed and "No result". Or you can just use the Cell Styles.

Another thing, the template is made so that you only need to change first date, and all the other dates (including the "Mon Tue Wed...") adjust in relation to that. So just change the date on the top-left corner of each card.

Loop habit tracker if I’m not mistaken. One of the best android apps I’ve encountered - free and open source, simple but got really nice and helpful stats.

Look into Habit Reversal Training. I also recommend reading The Power of Habit by Charles Duhigg.

According to Duhigg, habit essentially consists of a cue, a routine, and a reward. Habits can't be removed, but they can be replaced. What you could do is start carrying an index card with you and make an X every time you feel like picking. That way, you can start to identify what cues your habit might have before you do it. After a while, you can look for a different less harmful routine to replace your picking, something that can produce a similar reward, and begin daily practicing doing that competing routine instead of picking. This isn't like snapping with rubberband as a way of punishing yourself for your habit. It's a more proactive approach to changing the routine to the cues of your habit.

I had a bad habit that I took control of in a similar way, except now rather than my previous routine, I just mark X's on an index card every time I feel like doing it. In a weird way, that became my new routine, but it's way better like that than before.

Thanks! I tried to read a wide variety: -The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain -The Colour of Magic by Terry Pratchett -Infinite Jest by David Foster Wallace -The Snows of Kilimanjaro and Other Stories by Hemingway -Animal Farm by George Orwell -Primates of Park Avenue by Wednesday Martin -Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury -The Gunslinger by Stephen King -The Drawing of Three by Stephen King -Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas by Hunter S. Thompson -The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams -Death Comes As The End by Agatha Christie -Timequake by Kurt Vonnegut -Girl, Interrupted by Susanna Kaysen -Norwegian Wood by Haruki Murakami -Orlando by Virginia Woolf -The Cherokee Trail by Louis L'Amour -As I Lay Dying by William Faulkner -Dubliners by James Joyce -Nocturnal Animals by Austin Wright -Kitchen by Banana Yoshimoto

I'm currently reading Earth Abides by George R. Stewart and plan to read either Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance, The Grapes of Wrath, or The Waste Lands next!

I hope you're talking about 7 Weeks! I'm also the dev so if you have any questions or suggestions, please let me know :)

And I've been promising it for a long time, but a HUGE update is finally nearing being completed. I'm aiming to release it within the next 3 weeks, or when I hit 10000 downloads. Whichever comes first!(hopefully!)

~~And here is a similar app for us Android users: HabIt!~~

/u/Anonymous_jfdsa90jfl shared a much better app: HabitBull. Thanks!

Thanks for sharing, OP! The app looks great!

I bet you could find one online to print out for free, but my fiancee surprised me with this one she ordered off amazon!

Here's a link to this one I think: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08FX4XJPS/ref=cm_sw_r_em_apa_glt_fabc_PSHK1T3CXP8G3YG63EF6?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1

It comes with 25 pages! I love it.

Okay, so here is how it worked.

You have two folded papers in two part:

• The left part of the paper was a kind of bullet journal with all I had to do or remind this day.

• The right part was the X effect itself, with the flair and the marks. The marks are in blue or red, so I can remember If I already marked it today.

• you may have noticed that I have cross marks and circle marks. The circle marks are a count of 5 cross. That made it easier for me to keep the count.

• the last paper, the long one with letters and cross only, had been added after. I used it because as a very distracted man, I used to forget which color was the cross of the day for each thing, and then couldnt remembered if I already marked it or no. So I just put all the letters of th fairs in line, and crossed them with the color of the day. By doing it everyday, I simply had to report it on the folded paper and I could see if it didn't matched.

Now, why did I used this system instead of simply having cards? It's because that way, I always had my X effect system with me. The two papers together were always in my back pocket of trouser. And that way, I didn't had to remember to fill my cards when I was doing something, but instead was marking it right away. It also helped me to keep shit done by having my bullet journal with me all the time.

This system has been designed by me by taking in account what I read in The Power of Habit and The Slight Edge: to create a habit, make it as easy and consistent as possible in all the steps. And if it's easy to do, it's also easy not to do, so keep it as easy as possible to access, fill, and do.

I. Hope this might be of some use for some of you.

Always set small simple goals when trying to habit form something. For example, if you're trying to create better eating habits, make a habit of not ~~snaking~~ snacking. Put whatever you want on your plate for your meal, but that's all you get. If you want to do a special diet in addition to that, then go for it, but keep the habit of not snaking, and over time you'll have omitted all of those extra calories. Or say you want to exercise more, so make a habit of being active for 30 minutes a day, and add a workout routine if you want. I did the same thing was reading for 30 minutes a day. Over time, I found myself automatically being inclined to desire exercise or pick up a book. It's incredible. Also if you haven't read it, check out The Power of Habit. Really eye opening read.

edit: words

It's called 7 Weeks and I'm actually the developer. It's only for Android right now but I have iOS and a Web app coming soon! Check it out here! And feel free to let me know what you think!

I have two wonderful recommendations. There is a book called Mindfulness in Plain English. You can find it for free. Second thing is an app called Headspace. These two tools combined should get you off to a good start.

1) I recently read Waking Up; A Guide to Spirituality Without Religion by Sam Harris and I found it great. I highly highly recommend it. He narrates the audio book as well. He also includes two free guided meditations on his blog.

http://m.samharris.org/blog/item/mindfulness-meditation

2) Mindfulness in Plain English by Bhante G. should also be on your list.

3) The Power of Now by Eckhart Tolle is amazing. Actually you can't really go wrong with anything by Tolle.

4) Another one I love to read is Tao Te Ching. It's fantastic to read verses and meditate on them.

I suggest starting with these and they will give you an idea on how you want to proceed with your reading. Good luck :).

Edit Now that I think about it, what helped me get in the mindset and really focus was listening to Tibetan or Gregorian monk chants, "binaural beats", shamanic and yoga music on low with headphones. Later, whenever I'd put one of those pieces on, my mind went straight into a thoughtful, meditative space. Thought I'd suggest it in case it helps you as well.

The gist is that you pick a daily goal and check off calendar days for each time you're successful in meeting that daily goal. The goal can be anything. Many people have several at once. For example, I have a goal to floss every day. I use a goal tracking app to log each day I floss. This way, I can easily see my current streak and this helps me maintain the habit.

Edit: this is the app I use. https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=info.intrasoft.habitgoaltracker

App is called 7 Weeks - Habit & Goal Tracker and it's amazing: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.ryan.brooks.sevenweeks.app&hl=en

NF = NoFap

After some of these cards I'm going to drop some of these habits from tracking. After two cards and almost 100 days they are now forming into daily things and I don't need to track them anymore. I will also replace psychology with general studying/reading because I'm almost done with my exams. I might add one more habit after this round, but I'll try to not add too many.

Awesome! I started learning german a few weeks ago and have a card for it. I'm using https://www.duolingo.com/ which is great (and completely free). I'm curious as to what resources you're using to learn it?

The habit - Do 5 push-ups after every bathroom break.

Goal: I want to get into the habit (and mindset) of exercising, with my hectic schedule.

How do I do this (tiny habits with incremental gains method): 1. Super easy habit with clear triggers - toilet, then push-ups. 2. Super easy demand (5 push-ups aren't that hard). 3. Can be done anywhere and at any time during the day. 4. Doing it even once a day is a success.

Why I doing this habit (very important and resonates with me): I want to get stronger. I want to prove to myself that I can build a habit of my choosing and make it stick (and in time build larger habits as a result). I want to get into an exercise mindset (versus a specific routine)- something to build on for life (health, self-growth, etc.)

Thus far: It's really easy to do and I feel great by doing it. I plan to increase by one as I go (6 push-ups next week, 7 on week 3 and so forth). Bonus - I find myself thinking of doing other exercises.

EDIT: and I've bet 5$ that I won't deviate from this for the remaining 6 weeks through Beeminder

I think I found it, is this it?

It´s for android Loop - Habit Tracker

Edit: Here a good list with a good Habit Tracker in App Store

Sure. I've never shared a play store link so hopefully it'll work. Turns out it's called Loop so that might be why you couldn't find it, but the app shows up as Habits on my screen. My bad.

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=org.isoron.uhabits

Congratulations on sticking it out til the end! And nice work on reflecting on the positives and the negatives.

I think it needs to be said up front that there is nothing magical about 49 days. There is no guarantee that you will develop a brand-spanking new habit after 7 weeks. Research shows that the amount of time it takes to build a new habit depends on many factors and is highly individual so there is no way to predict how long it will take.

If you wanna experiment more with habits, you can read The Power of Habit. And if you don’t feel like reading the book, check out the pdfs on the Resources Page because they pretty much sum up the book’s main arguments.

If you are asking about java, then it's best you start with Head First Java. The book is fun. Then you can move on to more serious books like Thinking in Java and Effective Java. Also if you want to build up your core programming abilities that are language agnostic, then you have to read The Pragmatic Programmer.

And again I would like to recommend this wonderful app that I use for tracking my habits:

7 Weeks - Habit & Goal Tracker

It was done by /u/rbro112 who learned Android development AND got a job with the X Effect!

I also recommend Clockwork Tomato on Android because it helped me a lot for my new job.

Instead of doing the regular pomodoro, I change the settings a bit to 25 minutes of work BUT it won't stop until I do it manually (it's called an extended timer in the app). It's a good thing because I don't look at my timer all the time (because I would be scared that I missed my break), and most of the time the pomodoro is automatically extended to 30 or 40 minutes instead of 25 minutes.

I would love to help the 7 Weeks guy but I don't really know what I can do except rate and give my opinion. It's a great app.

7 Weeks - Habit & Goal Tracker

I believe it's Android only but I know some people in this sub have an alternative for iOS

I'm using 7 Weeks to track the habits. The screen is tinted because of the Twilight app which helps with preventing blue light (helps with sleep at night)

7 Weeks! I'm the developer so if you have any questions or suggestions let me know. A huge update is in Beta right now so it's about to get a lot better!

7 Weeks - Habit & Goal Tracker: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.ryan.brooks.sevenweeks.app&hl=en

It was done by /u/rbro112 who learned Android development AND got a job with the X Effect!

App is called 7 Weeks - Habit & Goal Tracker: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.ryan.brooks.sevenweeks.app&hl=en

And the journal for this week:

3.3. Yes. My concentration is at pretty much all time low because of dating. I need to start working on my neurotic behavior, but I don't know how... MPGHWN.

4.3. Yes. Very different psychology study today, unstructured. I read more about stuff that I am interested in than stuff that I should study. NF is giving me some serious mood swings. MPGHWN.

5.3. Yes. Continued my series of atypical psychology studies as I’m currently reading a book called ‘The Compass of Pleasure’. The first week of NF is behind me now. MPGHWN.

6.3. Yes. 15 days to exam, I'm gonna have to start reading the right books soon. Still mood swings. MPGHWN.

7.3. Yes. Date night, so limited psychology study. MPGHWN.

8.3. Yes. Met a friend so most of my time was spent on socializing. Also the dog got sick for some reason and threw up pretty much all evening and night. MPGHWN.

9.3. Yes. Finally I’m gonna start studying for the exams. MPGHWN.

I'm actually the developer of 7 Weeks, an app that I made using theXeffect. I'd love for you to check it out and give me any feedback you have on it. Also, I have a relatively large update coming within the next few days (currently in final stages) which will hopefully improve the app a lot! Check it out!

Good luck to you too!

Here's another app that you may like if your list keeps growing, or if you want a different kind of app (that lets you keep going past 49 days): HabitBull

Wow! Glad you guys like it. So I just did a few screenshots on how to customize your own cards like this. For me, combining all of these on one sheet was just for convenience sake. These are all individual cards, copy and pasted onto a doc with a cool looking background.

I like it when i get to scribble on cute things.

The PPT (what i used to create the cards/grids) is HERE

IT SEEMS LIKE A SHADY SITE, BUT THE "DOWNLOAD THIS FILE" BUTTON IS THE REAL ONE

I mentioned in a reply further down the page about my rationale for doing multiple tasks for a single "X". My thought process is to create new routines from recent habit changes. I've just gone through a series of lifestyle changes over the past few months and combining those with small changes makes my simple habits seem more easily attainable.

It may work, I may fall flat on my face, but at least I'll have a pretty grid to scribble on :)

I'm anxious to give updates. GOOD LUCK!

Here is some other random input...

The key is to keep goals achievable. Set yourself up for success. It's not cheating but progress.

About the sleeping thing. You just might not work that way. Some peoples clock is just set different. However I HIGHLY recommend installing f.lux. Also look into Melatonin, (I am not a doctor, so do your own research) if your sleep cycle is off but you otherwise sleep ok. (Also note that the effective dose is much lower than what you can usually buy. The right dose seems to be around .3mg and overdosing seems to hurt long term effectiveness)

And I believe adding a few minutes of meditation helps with the rest... but then I am currently not doing that myself. Be smarter ;)

I loved Way of Life on the iPhone. Not because of the features but because of the pretty UI. There is also Goal Streaks which has a nice and simple UI and is Universal. I'll look up the links.

• Way of Life (limited free, IAP to unlock): http://appshopper.com/productivity/way-of-life
• Goal Streaks (not free): http://appshopper.com/productivity/goal-streaks-daily-goals-habits-tracker

Sorry for the shitty links.

there is actually a one that builds you from 5k to half marathon... but do you like zombies? Zombies Run has a prerequisite of being able to run 30 mins - it's like a story you play while running. I'm hoping to be able to do that at some point!

>The problem is when I get to something I don't understand fast enough and is very difficult I just look at the time and quit once I'm past the 50 minute mark. This results in multiple days where I do spend the 50 minuts and reach my goal every day, but it leaves me dissapointed and kind of ruins my day because I still feel like a failure. This keeps going on for multiple days until I understand the difficult part and can move on. Then I'm there again spendig multiple hours working on my skill.

I know exactly how you feel, and I've been there (and I'm still there). I'm currently going through the exercism and codeabbey problems, and I try to solve one problem a day. Once I got to the harder problems, that started to be more and more difficult to maintain, and I became consumed by the problem to the point that it started taking away time from my other items of the day.

Here's what worked for me on the problems that made me stuck. Use pen and paper. Try to visualize your program somehow. Draw things out. George Polya once said: "“If you can't solve a problem, then there is an easier problem you can solve: find it.” As a measure of last last resort, Google (tangential) questions and add "quora" or "stackoverflow" at the end, and see some helpful answers. Don't try to reinvent the wheel, there are plenty of things to develop on with your creativity. One last thing, at the end of your 50 minute session, if you reached to a place that you don't understand, don't throw everything away. If you wrote a piece of code that didn't exactly work, keep it. Keep all your pen and paper notes as well for the next day. Take advantage of the effort you spent yesterday in today's 50 minutes so that you don't end up re-understanding the problem everytime.

Best of luck!

Awesome work. The mere fact that you maintained/kept track of your success/failure is a success in and of itself. :)

>It's been not so bad so far, but I'd really like to add some quality to the work I do. Keep the bar low so that maintaining the habit always remains easy, and add quality after you've comfortably crossed off all the habits of the day. I have been seriously working on habit building for the past ~667 days, and for some reason things work out great in the beginning until I choose to increase the intensity of the habit, and then things turn to shit on some days where schedule really doesn't permit me to maintain that habit, and it just snowballs from there.

What did work for me is to keep that bar low enough to maintain, but high enough to do some quality work by accumulative effort. If I wanted to do more than what the low bar requires, I'll do it if the schedule of the day permits it. If not, then at least I maintained my streak and don't feel like shit.

Try Habitica. I've been using it for the past 2 years and it's been helping me with keeping track of habit building.

>CS > Programming > Eat Fruits I have a programming daily habit as well! I'm currently working on the codeabbey problems, working my way through it one (at least) problem a day. If you're interested and would like an accountability partner, pm me.

Sure! Actually I did an interview on my early days that you might find insightful: https://www.indiehackers.com/interview/the-productivity-app-that-helped-to-build-and-grow-itself-b4d7afdf11

I was a bit ahead of where you are now, but it will make much more sense than anything I tell you now! Also, the community is very helpful!

Tip number 1: Don't overthink the tech stack. Just start coding an mvp and ship it in hours. If it works, and the idea is validated, you won't need much to improve the tech stack to adapt to it ;)

:D love it. FWIW, knowing what little I do about programming, it wouldn't be too hard to make a chrome extension that draws circles like this on Google Calendar when enabled. The trick what to use as a source for the data, though.

Also, there's a lovely and simple habit app called everyday.app that easily supports a similar use case.

Thanks, I use Timeular https://timeular.com/ Has 8 sides so you just assign each side an activity and then you flip it to the appropriate side when switching activity (I have two of these, one is just for work.)

I know there exists some knockoff versions that are a bit cheaper (https://timeflip.io for example), have not tried that one and I think I heard it had some sketchiness with tracking (which might have been fixed)

The app logo should have a blue background and white arrow as a circle. Maybe it's an android only app, but the app in the first link looks extremely similar to the app I have installed. Literally every single screenshot. So I'd go for that.

Here, the app on the play store for reference: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=org.isoron.uhabits

Thanks! :D And sure, the app is Today Weather. I have paid for the premium version, though, but I can't really remember what came with it - hopefully the widgets were free.

i have a philips one. amazon link

For reminders and tracking using a phone, Loop (habit tracker) app is very useful. IIRC, one of the redditors on this sub created it.

Is it a Kindle Fire? The main reason to avoid screens at night is because of the blue light, so if you can install an app like Twilight you could turn the redness way up until you can still read and avoid most of the problem.

Learn that motivation is bollocks. There's plenty of, ironically motivational YouTube videos teaching that you can't depend on motivation for anything. Success comes from routine, not motivation. Oh it's 7pm, that means it's time to do xxxx. And you DO xxxx, every single day, simply because it's 7pm. No other reason. Screw motivation and seek habit. Build the habit and strengthen the habit. Successful people get like that from habit, not waiting until they "feel motivated".

As for depression, read this book if you haven't already.

https://www.amazon.com.au/Lost-Connections-Uncovering-Depression-Unexpected/dp/163286830X

Best of luck! I like your format and I'm looking forward to see you X all that. :)

I had a similar experience of kicking a bad habit, and I must say that I found that the number of times I had to deter myself from doing a bad habit did not match the one X I make for that day. What really helped in that particular case was carrying an index card and a pen at all times, and every time I get the urge to do a bad habit, I make an X, and put the card back. I gathered around 10 X's a day, and it was a great feeling to have acknowledged each battle of the day rather than just the single day itself.

I've learnt this from the book The Power of Habit by Charles Duhigg. He writes that you can't remove habits, only replace them. What I've essentially done was every time I get the cue to do my bad habit routine, I instead replaced the routine with drawing X's on an index card, and get somewhat similar mental rewards.

I think these recordings are really good. Gil Fronsdal is a good teacher. Vipassana (insight) meditation is what I try to do.

http://www.audiodharma.org/series/1/talk/1762/

Also, a book called Mindfulness in Plain English is fantastic.

Listen to the Introduction to Meditation lectures on Audio Dharma or read Mindfulness in Plain English (it's also available free on the web).

Try sitting for 5 minutes and slowly work up. Consistency and concentration are more important than the length of time.

Bear in mind that relaxation can be a byproduct of mindfulness meditation, but that's not its purpose. The point is to be aware. Meditation can be distressing to people with severe mental problems.

Going strong right now! Even though there have been days where I got home at 10 pm and wanted to do nothing except sleep, I've been able to do 20 minutes of exercise and 10 minutes of meditation.

Thoughts: Exercise is the fun part. When this block gets finished, I'm thinking of adding few minutes to each of the exercise blocks - for example 12 minutes general mobility, 6 minutes shoulders, 6 minutes feet and arches. Going from 20 minutes to 24 minutes - still a daily and manageable amount of time. Also thinking of adding foam rolling to the mix as a separate block?

Meditation - After this block I'm thinking of swapping this out with something else. I like the 10 minutes of concentrating on my breathing, but I feel I cant force it daily. Too often I get distracted and start thinking what I will do after I finish meditating. Maybe I should keep this one separate from daily requirements...? But these are my first thoughts, have to see how I feel on the 42nd day.

Plans - As I said, I might change the meditation chart for something else. Right now I've thought of few options:

1) 10-15 minutes of walking outside with an audiobook (most likely "Full Catastrophe Living" by Jon Kabat-Zinn)

2) 10-15 minutes spent writing code - have to keep practicing.

3) 10 minutes of cleaning up

4) 10 minutes of sketching and drawing, though I feel it might become just like meditation for me - when I force it, nothing good usually comes.

Thoughts, suggestions?

Came here to recommend "What to Say When You Talk to Yourself" by Dr. Sham Helmstetter but I see you've already read it! Well done. Fabulous book.

My #2 recommendation then would be "The Richest Man in Babylon" if you're interested in wealth.

Apps I use to sleep good:

Sleepbot, which uses motion tracking to wake you up at the ideal time.

I cant Wake up, This app is brutal. you need to play a few games before you can even snooze the damn thing.

A plugin timer wired to a lamp, so the room is lit when the alarms go off. This will help later in the year when the sun rises late.

! I almost forgot. silly name, but the app is "Alarm Clock Xtreme", and it's a freebie.

It's a solid tool. Now that I've gotten used to the timers and stopwatch on there as well, it's all the better.

Good Luck, Keep it up!

That's really useful for me, but I already use an app that does this you're saying, the name is HabitHub, you can see it here: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.rstudioz.habits . I really love this app. By saying this, I don't want do discourage you, but only to warn that maybe there's already an app that does what you want to do :).

App is called 7 Weeks - Habit & Goal Tracker: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.ryan.brooks.sevenweeks.app&hl=en

Journal for last week:

26.3. Yes. Finished before ice hockey and few beers. MPGHW.

27.3. Yes. Might be hangover or lack of sleep, but I’m not very happy at the moment. MPGHW.

28.3. Yes. Met a friend which took most of the day. Writing was a stub. MPGHW.

29.3. Yes. Finished early because I'm meeting a friend later. Didn't sleep much last night. MPGHWN.

30.3. Yes. Moving and dating day again, so my schedule is quite tight. I’m really, really tired. MPGHWN.

31.3. Yes. Psych study was way too short and meditation was too hasty. Need to step up. MPGHWN.

1.3. Yes. No problems today because of no distractions. Gonna sleep early and do a proper morning meditation tomorrow. MPGHWN.

7 Weeks! I developed it using the X effect method! If you have an Android device, go download it! If you have an iOS app, I'm working on the app right now and I'm hoping to get it done relatively soon!

Thank you! Also, here is a link to the Play Store download page. I am almost done with an update so if you download in the next few days you will hopefully have the newest version!

I saw this response too late ._. Made 'em anew, I had already crossed the first box on both cards!

Physical exercise: https://www.mediafire.com/?ygliaaoiel3e3zg Reading (forgot to fix the bracket though): https://www.mediafire.com/?pe7s3fhhcc1q23o

There! :)

I wish there was more apps like that on Android. I only have simple needs but haven't found an alternative to Way of Life on Android. I'll have to write it myself in the end...

Adding on to what /u/Bombjoke has said here for people like me who use their phones to track sleep: get some sort of fitness band or necklace that you can wear.

I used to use an app called SleepCycle that you plug your phone in and turn upside down on the corner of your bed and it uses the gyro in your phone to track when you are in REM (Rapid Eye Movement) sleep. The idea is that you can pick a time that you want to wake up and set a flex time in the app (usually 30 or so minutes) so that when t he app detects that you are out of a REM sleep cycle it will activate your alarm. This makes it easier to wake up rather than being disturbed out of a deep sleep.

Unfortunately I would find myself messing around on the phone for an hour or so after going to "bed" because the phone was right there. I love numbers and graphs and being able to see when I slept well and why and if I was feeling better or worse over time. But this tinkering on the phone was really being counter productive to the reasoning of tracking my sleep on the phone anyway.

The solution was to get a band that fulfills this role. Something like the FitBit Line or the Jawbone Up (there are others) is able to track your sleep as well, but removes that temptation to tinker around on your phone or ipad or whatever before bed.

Hi, I am the developer of Loop Habit Tracker. Thanks for using the app! The current version of the app assumes that you will always complete your habit in the same day of the week. Please try out the beta version on Google Play. We have a new algorithm that works with people with flexible habit schedules like yours. The update will be available to all users in the following weeks.

You can read a more detailed discussion in our bug tracker: https://github.com/iSoron/uhabits/issues/124

20 minutes a day on python is a great idea. I am new to the x effect I hadn't thought of using it to learn a skill before. Also the way I found learning programming fun was by solving Project Euler Problems. Good luck to you.

This is made with a PDF I made in google docs, printed on colored cardstock my ex happened to have lying around, and cut on one of those big paper-guillotine things. Enjoy!

This one has 32. So does the top left one here.

Yeah, you should definitely do it. It is so useful. Even if you're not that fast at typing without looking at the keyboard when you start you'll quickly speed up if you keep practicing.

I'm just using a website called typing.com. I set a timer for 30 mins and work my way through the exercises on there and then I get my average for the day on typeracer. I prefer typing.com but you can use whatever one you prefer. I'm pretty sure they all do the same thing they just get you there differently.

Thank you! You can actually use that gradient in the free version! If you are on the web, then you can change the color by clicking on the little green dot on the left of your habit!

I do plan to offer 5 free habits as soon as I can afford it!

There's already a one-time purchase price for it. See https://everyday.app/pricing :)

Just to be fully transparent about this, the images are from the app I've been working for a few years now https://everyday.app! If someone's annoyed by this please let me know!

This is my best board ever https://app.everyday.app/2/1 :P

I kinda miss the calendar view I used on paper though, I hope I can bring it into the app soon! But the yearly view really puts things in perspective. Like how I clearly broke my reading habit because of the beach hehe

I use these Time Tracking Cubes: https://timeular.com, I have one for Work and one for Non-Work so I can track 16 different things in total.

It's not completely seamless having two cubes (takes about 5-10 seconds to swap between them), but other than that little piece of friction I think it's the easiest way to track time, as long as you are at home/at the computer at least.

pomodoros are badass. im afraid to make that a card. i dare you.

what kind of work is it? on the subject of concentration different strategies apply depending on the type of work. a small thing that made a big differnce for me was to keep a back of an envelope and a pencil beside my keyboard. i have to keep a big assemblage of concepts in my head in order to work on it. i learned that i only have a limited amount of prefrontal cortex primetime available each day during a certain period, and cutting down on wasting it improved my output. i learned that it requires a lot of PFC juice just to load my assemblage into it for thinking about it, and when i get interrupted and then go back to it, i waste a bunch of PFC juice just reloading it. so when an oblique thought hits me, i dont entertain it. i keep the stuff in my brain and just quickly jot down the thought to process later.

its a small thing but there are many practical tips that really add up when it comes to optimally operating your old model brain. forcing yourself to try harder and keep your nose to grindstone is a non-clever brute-force attack that simply doesnt work as well as good research.

see my links to david rock video. also ran across this yesterday.

i love workflowy and i love sharing book notes. thanks for doing this!

im definitely going to take that procrastination test... soon!

The app name is 'Loop Habit Tracker'.

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Here is the link:

Loop Habit Tracker - Apps on Google Play

Yup, that's the beauty of it - screenshots around here with Loop Habit Tracker seem to all have huge widgets.

The way I did it was using Nova Launcher, which lets you resize the widgets to become as small as you want them to be. Just make sure to also tap on the Padding option after selecting a widget, so it fills up more of its bounding box.

<strong>Loop Habit Tracker</strong> (100% free, but available only on Android, sadly :() is just so cool! Its widgets feature really is what helped me achieved my goals for the last few weeks. You simply cannot avoid looking at what you should be doing.

I actually tried this app in the past, but I couldn't stick with it, because its interface didn't impress me, nor was it satisfying enough to keep me hooked. You'd have to tap on a habit and scroll down a bit to see this calendar that's on my home screen - and that single tap was enough for me to uninstall the app, as I couldn't easily see my progress.

Now, after I found out about its widgets feature (on an older post from this subreddit, in fact) - it's THE best! I wholeheartedly recommend it to all you Android users! I mean it's totally free (it doesn't even accept donations), so why not give it a shot?

And about my habits, here is what I managed to achieve in the last month: > Morning - wake up at between 7:00AM - 7:30AM every day (the app <em>Sleep Cycle</em> wakes me up at the optimal time during this timeframe, so I don't wake up tired in the morning) and do my routine, which includes journaling for 30 minutes and meditating for 10 minutes.

> Study - study for university, for at least 1 hour every day.

> Project - work on my personal programming project for at least 1 hour every day.

> NoSurf - I am particularly proud of this one, as its "requirement" is staying off of distracting sites (such as Reddit or YouTube) when not searching for anything SPECIFIC. Basically, I can finally say that I overcame mindless scrolling for good. It's replacement, by the way, are audiobooks :).

> Night - go to bed at exactly 10:30PM, every day. After all, if I want to wake up early, then I must go to bed early.

I just hit my 7 week milestone yesterday. I'd like to thank everyone who encouraged me in my previous posts.

I am still considering what goaks to set myself now. Of course I am going to continue building on these habits but I don't know if I should add more. I am considering learning Blender, journalling, or posting progress logs to youtube.

I am using an Android app called Loop Habit Tracker

The exercise goal is mostly just to walk the dog. Originally it was just meant to be 5 days of the week but I've been trying to keep it up with the others. We will see how that holds up over the winter though. I will probably have to dust off the old treadmill.

Since it was asked when I first posted my cards, I guess I'll preempt the question at the risk of sounding like I am advertising. The app I am using is called [Loop Habit Tracker](https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=org.isoron.uhabits)
It is an android app. I have no clue if it has an iOS app.

This is how I setup my water routine:

1. I wanted to drink more water, both as a healthier drink option & to stay hydrated, as sometimes I'll forget to drink all day.
2. I picked up a big double-walled, vacuum-insulated tumbler (these hold ice cold all day). Walmart sells the Ozark brand for cheap; it's the same exact design as a YETI, but for $10 instead of $50. My particular model is the 30-ounce version. You can get it on Amazon for an extra five bucks. They are made out of metal & pretty much last forever, so they are a worthwhile investment!
3. To increase the convenience, I got a lid &amp; straw kit for the jar.
4. I also picked up a set of coasters & put them everywhere I usually am - nightstand, computer desk, end-table next to couch in front of TV, work desk, etc. This is more for memory reasons...like, if I sit down at my computer & see an empty coaster, it reminds me to go get my water. And because my water is now on the coaster, I remember to drink it, because it's in my line-of-sight all day long!
5. I fill up the mug with ice & water, which makes the water more refreshing, because it's cold & stays cold all day long.
6. I carry the cup with me everywhere.

The end result is that there is always plenty of cold water within arms reach, and there are no barriers to drinking it because I have a straw installed in it. I know that sounds like over-thinking the situation, but the result has been that I drink water now more than any other beverage during the day & stay hydrated all day long. I used to get mild headaches & couldn't figure out why, until I realized I wasn't drinking enough water & was keeping myself mildly dehydrated on a regular basis.

Also, congrats on finishing your first card!!

• An x card for 5-10 minutes of stretching before breakfast is made.

• download a 'home workout' app for bodyweight fitness ideas. start at the beginner levels. i use one whose workouts per specific body area average 15-20 minutes each. I do 2 of those per session. since you're a beginner, set a card to do 1/2 of one per morning, and the other half at night.

• an x-card for 5-10 minutes of range of motion drills.

• x-card for after work yoga stretch out. my wife has been using the Roku box to youtube yoga videos on the big screen. scooch the couch back, push the foot-rest out the way, and voila, home gym.

• x-card for fast walking down to the end of the block and back 1x daily. intentional walking. doesn't have to be 'speed walking', but it cannot be a casual stroll. put some backbone into it.

whatever you chose - and there are obviously a zillion options for you, be willing to experiment with time of day and what you do. Just doing it will be good enough, but finding a way to 'slide' it in to your daily life will be wildly beneficial by making the whole thing easier to adapt to.

You can try my app Habithub - Habit Tracker and Goal Tracker. It allows you to track quantities for any habit you wish. It also has widgets that you can tap to increment the count without opening the app. It's a paid feature though, but you can use the code - dfg54t4rr to activate the premium and try it out for free. To use the code go to settings -> about -> coupon. Let me know if you any feedback on the app.

Das macht die App selber, ich hack nur ab, ob ich es gemacht habe oder nicht. Und wenn ich es halt mache, geht die Stärke hoch, und wenn ich es skippe, geht die runter.

Das steht in deren Beschreibung:

>Habit PunkteUm dir deine Schwächen zu zeigen, hat Loop einen Algorithmus, um deine starken Angewohnheiten zu erkennen. Jede Wiederholung verstärkt diese und jedes Aussetzen schwächt sie. Aber ein paar Verfehlungen nach langem Durchhalten machen natürlich nicht gleich alles zu nichte.

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Ist diese hier, falls es dich interessiert: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=org.isoron.uhabits

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EDIT: Habe gerade eine neue Gewohnheit hinzugefügt und anscheinend pro Hacken gehen 5% hoch. Ich weiß nicht wie viel es runter geht, wenn ich einen Tag skippe.

If you're looking for something simple, Loop is a really nice habit tracker. You can even measure your habit strength across days, weeks, and months (it also has a yearly option). It has really simple and effective UI, plus you can set reminders.

Forsure! Hm, can't think of any features off the top of my head, but have you looked at 7 Weeks for inspiration? It has a few nifty features but maybe you'll notice something you want that 7 Weeks doesn't have and you'll think of new features.

I think everyone is more concerned with the app I am using than me crushing my goals lol

To clear the doubt here's the play store link:

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=org.isoron.uhabits

Few more advices I want to give for people who want to start using this method:

• Consider long term vs. short term habits - do you want to do this thing for the rest of your life or is it more of a temporary thing? This should affect the scope of your habits, for example if you want to start exercising and KEEP ON exercising, don't set the bar too high. You want this to be a permanent change in your life, and it will probably not work if you're too strict and set too many rules. There's nothing wrong with short term habits either, learn a new thing and then move on to other things.
• There will probably be situations where you have to explain yourself to other people. You're going out and you still haven't done most of your habits? Try explaining that to your friends who might be on a tight schedule. Prioritize.
• For me, it is best to do most of my habits during the morning. I am more concentrated and relaxed (for meditation) at this time. You should try to find the best time for you to do your daily chores and stick to this schedule as often as you can.

Finally, here are some books I can recommend, they can also be bought in audio form (Audible, for example):

• Olson - The Slight Edge
• Linden - The Compass of Pleasure
• Irvine - A guide to the Good Life - The Ancient Art of Stoic Joy
• Covey - 7 Habits of Highly Effective People
• Duhigg - The Power of Habit
• Dweck - Mindset
• Johnson - Who Moved My Cheese?

Read Mastering the Core Teachings of the Buddha in its entirety. It's a free eBook that covers the fundamentals of meditation as taught by Buddha and how to practice them. You'll greatly benefit from the insights of the author, Daniel Ingram, who is a pretty hardcore dharma guy.

Read The Power of Habit and created these 2 cards on fortyninedays.com. One to do kegels and stomach vacuums every day in the shower while shaving to fix my my chronic lower back problems and one to exercise every day before getting on reddit. Never worked out on my own before. Developed 2 great habits with 2 great triggers, shaving and reddit.

I highly recommend "Mindfulness in Plain English". Vipassana, or mindfulness meditation, is secular and is geared towards seeing reality more directly and living with less illusion. Cool stuff indeed.

I've ordered my self a copy of Becoming a Barbarian by Jack Donovan. It's the thematic sequel to a personal favourite of mine, The Way of Men. I liked that book because he took Masculinity, a concept that is often used a tool to serve specific agendas, and breaks it down to its fundamental building blocks.

"Read aloud Self-Talk cards daily for 5 minutes"

I find this practice to be invaluable for my mental health and well-being. Lacking motivation? Feeling blergh? Not focused? Read aloud positive self-talk cards for five minutes to yourself in the mirror. Holy CRAP does it rev up your whole day.

I am definitely doing this card again because I want the lifetime unbreakable habit. Only change I'm going to make is doing these in the morning because it affects the course of the entire day.

For more information on Self-Talk:

The Self-Talk Solution (my favorite)

What to Say When You Talk to Yourself

This particular board is really old I bought it like 5 or 6 years ago, maybe longer. I think at a Target but I can't be sure on that. I did find it on amazon right now just by searching for "white board calendar board dudes": http://www.amazon.com/Board-Dudes-Aluminum-Dry-Erase-CYG21/dp/B0055QJF3C/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1444090345&amp;sr=8-3&amp;keywords=white+board+calendar+board+dudes

Anyways, there are a bunch of similar products on amazon too just search for white board calendar. Hope you find one you like - good luck!

Thanks! Here's a direct link to the app mentioned. Looks ok but you have to upgrade to paid version to use the widgets. https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.ryan.brooks.sevenweeks.app

The app is 7 weeks : https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.ryan.brooks.sevenweeks.app It's a good app, simple and efficient.

But I'm trying another to get better stats on my progress: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.rstudioz.habits

Unfortunately only on Google Play - EveryDayHabit.
I haven't looked into the difficulties of porting, but if this takes off a bit and there is interest I'll give it a go.

I have one that tells you when to go to bed based on your alarm; tracks your sleep & wakes you up based on where you are in your sleep cycle, plus a bunch of different kinds of captcha.

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.urbandroid.sleep.full.key