Everyone has things they want to do more of but struggle to find the time and energy for. Maybe you want to exercise more often. Or put in a little more cash into a savings account each month. These are things that can make you happier and healthier in the long run, but they can be challenging to start and stick with.
Nowadays, self-care is everywhere, including in Silicon Valley. Tech developers have gotten behind the trend to create apps that make adopting new habits fun and even addictive.
No app is going to be perfect for everyone. That’s why we’ve put together six different options to give you the freedom to find the ideal match for you. No matter which one you choose, the daily use of these apps daily will push you closer to your goals.
A Word of Warning
Habit tracking has never been easier. With these apps, you can input your activities, chart progress, and receive encouragement from friends and family. It will help you to stay on the right track.
However, you should keep in mind that these apps contain massive amounts of personal information about you. For that reason, anytime you use a habit-tracking app, you need to enable a VPN. A VPN or virtual private network encrypts the information you exchange with apps and websites over the internet. It prevents third-parties from accessing any of it.
Another thing they do is hide your IP address from hackers and other threats. Right now, you might be thinking, “what is my IP address?” Usually, we don’t think about it and don’t see it anywhere. But every site and app you use can see on our every connection. They can use it to push targeted ads, or even worse, track your online browsing.
Fortunately, all you need is a VPN to reduce your digital footprint significantly. The only things that should be tracked are your habits. And it should only be you who does it.
Without further ado, check out these amazing apps.
1 – Habitshare
Get your friends involved and track your habits with HabitShare. This free app is a part social network and part habit tracker. Although it’s more barebones than some of the other options on the list, you’ll love how easy it is to use and regulate your privacy settings.
You’ll be able to track habits, send messages, and set reminders on certain days. If you want a free and simple app, it’s hard to beat HabitShare.
2 – Tally
Tally is the “anything tracker.” It is deceptively simple. It counts the things you do, whether that’s how many times per day you get up and stretch or check Facebook. You can track as many habits as you like. And it has a selection of advanced tools to make things even more accurate.
Tally is complete with fitness trackers like the Apple Watch, and you can also sync it with Dropbox and iCloud to make it easier to chart progress.
Moreover, you can set targets, get notifications, and see visual representations on customized graphs. The free version limits you to three habits, but for $4.99, you can unlock unlimited habits and other extra features.
3 – The Guardians: Unite The Realms
The Guardians take a different approach to habit tracking. This free game will feel familiar as it resembles Pokémon and other cartoon character games. But to progress through it, you spend money not on microtransactions, but yourself.
The goal is to nudge to healthy behaviors. And there’s some science to back this all up. In fact, the developer team is from MIT. The idea is to capitalize on the addictive quality of video games and putting that into self-care. You’ll be surprised how well the graphics and dialogue hold to the mainstream competition.
4 – Streaks
Streaks are the gorgeous, minimalist app you’d expect to exist in 2020. You can track up to 18 habits with customizable icons.
But what’s really cool is you link it up with Siri to make it easier to track habits. For example, you can say, “I quenched my thirst” to record drinking a glass of water.
Streaks lets get as granular as you like, including assigned days and timers for activities like reading. It also integrates into a health app to give you a complete picture of how your habits fit into your overall wellness.
5 – Strides
We promise we’re not trying to confuse the names. Strides is another habit-tracking app for the graph lovers out there. It shows you your progress and projected results, helping you better visualize the progress you’ve made.
Strides is particularly well-suited for long-term goals like tracking fitness, sleep, and money. But it has a wide variety of things you can monitor. Plus, it’s super tidy. You organize everything into four main categories: habits, targets, projects, and averages.
From here, you can build checklists, view everything from a dashboard, and set reminders. You can also track bad habits, rolling averages, and more.
6 – Mindset
The mindset has a different approach to habit-tracking. Everything about it is warm, friendly, and easy to use. Mindset, as the name suggests, is about mental wellness.
The main thing you do with it is to journal. But that’s not all. You can track your mood, activities, and more. If you want to manage your mental health better, it’s hard to beat this great app.
There you have it – six amazing habit tracking apps. Now get out there and use these apps to help you live your best life!
