build-a-bit

Minimal habit tracking tool that replaces your new tab screen.

Tool I created to help me build new habits and get rid of bad ones. I've used it to help quit smoking, drinking and eating unhealthily. I've also used it to build new habits such as going to the gym, climbing, running, swimming, reading more, meditating more and taking cold showers every day. Because, I've found it so useful I thought make it available to others for free.

The philosophy behind the app is based on the ideas in the book atomic habits by James Clear. Namely that tracking and placing results in your day to day awareness is key to building better habits.

I recommend starting with one or two habit cards and adding more as you become more sure that you can maintain those. Note the idea is not to have 100% of the habits in a "Doing" state all the time. If you find this is what happens to you then you may be making it too easy. You should be willing to accept that you might loose "Doing" habits if you go on holiday for instance.

The core feature is a kanban board with three columns, Not-Doing, In-Process and Doing. Habits are represented as cards which sit the columns. The extension allows users to create new habit cards. The user can specify a period, frequency and periods-till-doing for each habit. Habit cards placed in the "In-Process" column expose a tick button that allows the users to indicate that they've done the habit. If they successfully complete the habit with the specified frequency for each period enough times, (period-till-doing times) the habit will move from the "In-Process" to the "Doing" column and the process starts again. Failing to complete the task enough times will move the habit out of the "Doing" and into the "In-Process" column.

You might ask why not use any of the other extensions others have built. They where either over complicated and charged for the extra stuff I didn't want. Or they'd make you read a motivational quote every day or have you pretend to be a squirrel. Build-a-bit is simple and after using it consistently for 2 years now I'm pretty confident it works.

Hope you find it as useful as I have.