I like this feature.
When the pandemic first hit, I realized how important routines and (associated) metrics would be in keeping me afloat in a tumultuous time. To that end, I built my own little CLI-based habit/checklist tracker and started analyzing trends and habits on a weekly and monthly basis.
It worked great at first, I had a privileged insight into my week and could therefore fine-tune parameters to optimize for certain metrics. However, as the pandemic dragged on, the drudgery of waking up from my bed and working from my desk (which is a foot away [0]) eventually caught up to me and I started burning out. Looking back, a relentless pursuit to optimize for certain KPIs was part of the reason. Having successfully mechanized a large of my life with little room for error (for fear of rebuke from those pretty charts in Tableau), I started dreading those weekly-check ins with myself, eventually dropping the habit altogether. My tracker went poof soon after that. After all, there will be no rebuke from a chart if there is no chart to begin with :))
A couple months later, I cleared the backend database, and started anew. I had also come to realize over this "break" that I should not tie my self-worth to some graphs [1], and if I was getting the important stuff done, I had little to worry about. My "system" since then has been working fairly well, I use Trello to keep track of stuff, and if something super alarming pops up, I investigate. If not, I let things flow.
I believe it would help your user retention massively if you could remind users you are not a drill sergeant, but are there to help. And part of helping them is to sometimes remind them that (bad) metrics are not a judgement of their character and its okay to let things slide. You can always start anew.
Good luck to y'all, I wish you well! :)
[0] - I am an undergrad living in off-campus housing. Real-estate is unfortunately an expensive luxury at my time in life.
[1] - I recommend Jenny Odell's book "How to do Nothing" to anyone feeling like they are on a never-ending treadmill. There are parts of it that I didn't like, but all in all, it was a good read.
And like every programming problem, it's only fun until I find the answer. Then it becomes maintenance work, slotted alongside all of the five million other tasks I have to keep up with: Doomed to be ignored, dismissed, or otherwise forgotten about.
I realize there is a serious flaw in my approach to building good habits. The way to circumvent it is by decoupling process from results, and finding joy in the mere act of doing.
Still, it's so hard to do when trying to improve at something. The urge to optimize is pervasive.
Also we live in NYC and are acutely familiar with [0] LOL
We don't yet have a profile page in the app, but when we build it, we want it to represent the user's identity with a lot of fidelity, which will include creative, professional, or personal milestones alongside productivity data that the user wants to showcase.
I.e. sometimes you will be proud of yourself for a cessation streak, but sometimes you will want to proudly display a new artwork that is difficult to map to your productivity data.
The average personal trainer charges $30-39 per session depending on whose data you check. Assuming 1 session per week, the price of a personal trainer is $120-156 per month and our combined software and 1:1 human solution is <1/10th of the price.
- Identified your market fit as users who appreciate and accept calls (not the case for many. GenZ, for example, does not fit)
- These calls are the main motto for the app (but in this case, I do not understand why you hide all the other features from potential users like me. I do not need personal calls, but I could change my mind after a few trial weeks with proper motivation)
Anyway, do not get me wrong. These are just my two cents. Otherwise, good luck with the project!
[Edit]: formatting
Rules for naming a startup
1. Easy to pronounce 2. Easy to spell 3. Easy to remember 4. As few syllables as possible 5. .com unless very good reason otherwise 6. Related to the product/service
Calen.com would be a no go if it were me because it violates rules 1,2,3 and 6.
I’d go with something like habitkeeper.com which is only $2.5k.
I would add uniqueness as a good criteria because it helps with SEO and branding and because unique names are often easier-to-remember (#3) than generic names.
What I would recommend if you want to go the calendar-based route is start with "cal", "calen", or "calend" and find a random syllable to complete the word in a unique and phonetically-obvious way. You probably can find something suitable for under $10k.
Or if you don't mind spending some money, calenda is 30k
I "signed up" with Apple Login and then it asks for all the info again.
Why isn’t that information enough?
Seems like a great idea!
While I really like the concept (esp since it means I don't need to make my own workouts, which was often an excuse I used not to workout) I haven't found the accountability aspect very effective, I was at it for a few months and then dropped off, despite the daily "YOU GOT THIS!!" text from a stranger on the other side of the country.
It's entirely plausible that at the end of the day I'm just lazy/not motivated enough and no amount of accountability will be helpful, but I wonder if there's a better form of accountability, particularly through likeminded social circles, you could integrate.
Just riffing (using workout as the habit, since I will absolutely pay big $$ if something gets me to work out more, future is $150/m);
1. Social shaming
a. the app notifies a bunch of friends every time you miss a workout.
b. I pay for someone to blow up my phone / texts ad infinatum at a certain time until I'm in the gym's geofence.
2. Material loss
a. you use Plaid to pull $XX out of my account and send it to my buddy every time I miss a workout.
b. set aside some large amount of $$ like $1000 and if I don't get to the gym 20x in a month, confirmed by a third party, the money is gone forever.
3. Material gain;
a. join a group of friends; y'all put $100 in a pot, add 1 point for every workout and subtract 3 points for every miss. When the squad hits 100 points you spend the money on a trip to Fogo de Chão. If you go below 0 the money is gone forever.
b. partner with gyms & give a 40% membership discount if the person has a rolling 15 days / month attendance.
I was thinking of creating an app like this one, my major issue was that the app's incentives (making money) and the user's incentives (working out) were not aligned. I like the idea of giving money to your buddy (or charity) better.
The latest crop of note taking & productivity apps is really disappointing.