I’ve downloaded probably 20 habit tracking apps over the years.

Habitica. Streaks. HabitBull. Done. Productive. Loop. Way of Life. Strides.

Know how many I stuck with?

Zero.

The problem with habit apps

They all suffer from the same disease: feature creep.

You download a habit tracker and suddenly you’re being asked to:

  • Set detailed goals for each habit
  • Assign habits to categories
  • Add notes after completing habits
  • Track your “habit score”
  • Connect with friends for accountability
  • Join challenges
  • Unlock achievements
  • Analyze your habit heat maps

I don’t want to manage my habits. I want to do my habits.

The Jerry Seinfeld method

There’s this famous productivity trick attributed to Jerry Seinfeld. For years, he wrote jokes every single day. His system was simple:

  1. Get a calendar
  2. Every day you write, put a big red X on that day
  3. Don’t break the chain

That’s it. No goal setting. No categorization. No analysis. Just X’s on a calendar.

The visual streak becomes the motivation. You don’t want to break it.

So I built SimpleStreaks

The app does exactly what the name says:

  1. Add a habit
  2. Check it off each day
  3. Watch your streak grow

The streak visualization is beautiful because looking at it should feel good. A long chain of completed days is inherently satisfying.

There are no categories. No goals. No notes. No achievements. No social features.

Just habits and streaks.

Radical simplicity

I think there’s power in building apps that do less.

Every feature you add is a decision the user has to make. Every option is cognitive overhead. Every bell and whistle is a potential distraction from the core purpose.

SimpleStreaks has one job: help you not break the chain.

When you open it, there’s no confusion about what to do. Check today’s habits. Close the app. Live your life.

The result

I’ve maintained a meditation streak for 90+ days using SimpleStreaks. Before this app, my longest streak was maybe two weeks.

The difference isn’t motivation. It’s friction. When the app is brain-dead simple, you actually use it.

SimpleStreaks is launching soon. Join the waitlist.

Check the box. Build the life.

— Dolce