How To Build Insanely Strong Habits With An iPad
an Atomic Habits-inspired guide
Atomic Habits changed my life.
It made me appreciate the value of the little things we do every day.
This book genuinely changed the way I think (thank you James Clear 🙏). It's up there as one of the best books I've ever read.
Here's how you can incorporate Atomic Habits on your iPad (weird cross-over, I know):
How To Build Strong Habits
Think of an app you wanna use more often.
Examples that popped in my head:
Meditation apps
Fitness apps
Journaling apps
Podcast apps
Writing apps
Study apps
Flashcard apps
Let's call this app Goodify for reference.
Understand The Power Of Environment
"Where you work defines how you work"—a quote I made up right now
If you genuinely want to use Goodify more often, you have to modify your environment.
Usually, James Clear talks about a desk, office, or something along those lines.
Today I'll be talking about a digital environment—your iPad.
Make It Obvious
Goodify should be front-and-center on your iPad.
It should be on the first page of your Home Screen.
You should find the biggest Goodify widget out there and add it on every page of your iPad.
Make Goodify as obvious as possible.
Make It Attractive
Make it fun to use Goodify.
It sounds weird, but you need to incorporate some sort of primal attractiveness for using the app.
Let's say Goodify is a yoga app and you want to build a consistent yoga routine in the mornings. To make using Goodify attractive, you could try appealing to primal instincts by joining "tribes".
Here's what you could do:
Join an online yoga community
Join an in-person yoga community
Convince your friends to start doing yoga with you
Make It Easy
It should be insanely easy to use Goodify.
The main idea here is reduce friction.
Goodify should be on your first page
Add as many Goodify widgets as possible
Enable login with Touch ID/Face ID if needed
Maybe even pay for a pro subscription to get rid of ads
Make It Satisfying
Give yourself a reward for completing a good habit.
If your habit isn't satisfying, it'll be 10x tougher to stick with it in the long run.
Your rewards can be:
visual (habit tracker)
entertaining (classic example: tv + treadmill)
or even edible (your favorite snacks)
Come up with a reward that isn't horrible (no candy). It's essential for reinforcing good habits.
How To Break Bad Habits
Let's switch it up.
Find an app you NEED to stop using. Think TikTok, Instagram, etc.
Let's call this app Badify for reference.
Make It Not Obvious
Take Badify off your home screen
Delete any Badify widgets you have
Pretty easy.
Make It Unattractive
To stop using Badify, you have to make it unattractive.
If it exists, join a group to stop using Badify. Maybe you could convince your friends to stop using Badify too. You could even read Can't Hurt Me by David Goggins if you're seriously struggling.
Make It Hard
If you're really struggling, make it hard as f*** to use Badify.
Beginner Level:
Use One Sec.
One Sec is an app that forces you to take a second to think before you use Badify.
You configure One Sec using the Shortcuts app. Once configured, a breathing prompt opens up every time you try to open Badify.
Intermediate Level:
Offload Badify.
Settings → General → iPad Storage → Badify → Offload App
Advanced Level:
Just outright delete the app
Make It Unsatisfying
To stop using Badify, give yourself a punishment every time you open it.
These punishments could be:
donating a small fee to charity
limiting your favorite snack
writing "I will not open Badify again" 100 times
Whatever it is, there should be an immediate punishment that follows when you open Badify.
The punishment should outweigh whatever "reward" you feel from opening Badify in the first place.
Powerful Apps You Need To Use
There are a few apps out there that are incredibly helpful when building or breaking habits.
Here are a few:
Streaks
Streaks is the amazing paid habit-tracking app I currently use.
Here are the coolest features:
You can sync with iCloud
You can record daily notes
You can get automated reminders
Streaks has awesome widgets
If you have an Apple Watch, you'll get a super cool app
But above all, Streaks just works.
If you're looking for something simple, Streaks is awesome. And if you wanna dive deeper and become a habit guru, Streaks can be a powerful tool.
Pixelist
Maybe I didn't convince you on Streaks.
If you're looking for a free app, Pixelist is a great choice.
It's an awesome visual habit-tracking app. With an aesthetic design, it's both simple and fun to use.
It isn't as feature-packed as Streaks, but it does the job if you don't wanna spend any money.
One Sec
I talked about One Sec earlier in this post.
In case you missed it, One Sec is an app that pulls up a breathing prompt if you open a "bad" app.
Here's the idea:
You're scrolling on your phone and you spot the TikTok app
Without thinking, you mindlessly click on the TikTok app
Instead of scrolling through instant gratification hell, you get a breathing prompt telling you to take a deep breath
(hopefully) you decide not to use TikTok
It doesn't always work, but it's saved me a huge chunk of time.
One Sec does have a paid plan, but I use the free version.
Concepts
Concepts is an awesome "unlimited canvas" note-taking app I've used for years (check my post history if you don't believe me).
And it's a critical tool for the most important part of habit-building/breaking—reflection.
You need time to get your thoughts out. Concepts is the perfect app to do that.
It's one of the few apps I highly recommend for every iPad user out there.
Concepts has been kind enough to offer a free 30-day trial for their paid plan (don’t worry—their free plan is awesome too). And no, you won’t have to enter your credit card info.
Final Thoughts
"Some people spend their entire lives waiting for the time to be right to make an improvement."—James Clear
Thanks for reading!
Adi