

Show HN: Streaks, a todo list that helps you form good habits - qzervaas
http://streaksapp.com

======
qzervaas
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
Where was this months ago?

This seems like a good balance of todos. Why 6 instead of 4,5, or 7?

~~~
prawn
(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
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
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.

------
Veratyr
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-
and...](http://techcrunch.com/2014/02/23/kantar-smartphone-sales-android/)

~~~
qzervaas
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.

~~~
alttab
#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
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)

------
meesterdude
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.

------
benrmatthews
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-
fa...](http://www.nirandfar.com/2013/07/why-behavior-change-apps-fail-to-
change-behavior.html)

------
adam_albrecht
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
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.mychai...](https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=se.lixi.mychain)

[2] [http://lifehacker.com/281626/jerry-seinfelds-productivity-
se...](http://lifehacker.com/281626/jerry-seinfelds-productivity-secret)

[3]
[https://play.google.com/store/search?q=seinfeld%20chain|habi...](https://play.google.com/store/search?q=seinfeld%20chain|habit&c=apps)

------
source99
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
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
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
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
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)

------
kdamken
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.

------
dantiberian
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.

~~~
JshWright
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?

------
bijoutop
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.

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

~~~
gorn
Take a look at [https://chains.cc/](https://chains.cc/)

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actualdc1
$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.

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

~~~
qzervaas
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
True. I actually use custom goals with Coach me, so I could totally make a
specific task like that.

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

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grhmc
Seems very similar to chaincalapp.com

------
MichaelGlass
what about [http://streak.club](http://streak.club) ?

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exabrial
Android version is whee?

