A 30-day challenge is one thing you do every day for a month: read ten pages, write 300 words, no takeaway, a photo a day. Thirty days is long enough to lose count partway through, so the part that matters most is keeping track of which days you actually did it. This guide covers how to set up a challenge you can stick to tracking, then how to keep it on your phone with Habit Cat, our habit list for iPhone with one tick a day.
Pick a challenge you can tick
A challenge is easier to track when every day has a clear yes or no.
- One action, not a goal. "Read 10 pages" is done or not done today. "Read more" never is.
- Small enough for a bad day. You'll have a late night or a trip somewhere in thirty days. Pick something you could still do then.
- Decide the rules before day 1. Does a weekend count? What if you're ill? Write it down once, so you aren't deciding it on day 17.
- Start on the 1st if you can. Then the challenge lines up with one calendar month, on the habit's month page in the app and on the printed chart. Starting mid-month works too; it spans two months.
- Write down the start date. Habit Cat doesn't show a start date or an end date, so put the start in the habit's name, like "Read 10 pages (from 3 Nov)", if you won't start on the 1st.
Set up the challenge in Habit Cat
- Open Habit Cat. On an empty list, tap Add a habit. Later, use the + button at the top of the Habits screen.
- Type the action as the name, like "Write 300 words".
- Under How often, leave Every day.
- Tap Save.
The challenge gets a row on the Habits screen with its name, Every day under it until the first tick (then the streak), the last seven days as small squares, and a big round tick for today.
Tick it every day
Tap the round tick on the row when you've done today's part. Tap it again to untick it.
Under the name, the row shows the streak, like 12-day streak. Habit Cat counts the streak up from the first day; there's no "day 12 of 30" countdown, so once you've ticked today, the streak is also the day of the challenge you're on, as long as you haven't missed one.
Today isn't over yet, so not having ticked it yet doesn't break the streak. Tick it before the day ends and the streak goes up by one.
Set a reminder
- Open the challenge's page by tapping its row, then tap Edit.
- Turn on Remind me and pick a Time, for the time of day you usually do it.
- Leave the weekday circles empty for every day.
- Tap Save.
iOS asks for permission the first time there's a reminder to set. The reminder says "Time for" and the challenge's name.
Forgot to tick? Fill it in
If you did it but forgot to tick it, open the challenge's page. Under the streaks is a calendar for the month, with the number of days ticked that month under the month's name, like 18 days ticked.
Tap the day you missed to tick it. You can tick any day up to today, but not days still to come. Use the arrows, or swipe, to go back a month. A filled-in day counts toward the streak, so if that day was the gap, the streak joins up again.
Only tick days you did. The calendar is your own record, and it's only useful if it's true.
When you miss a day
You may miss a day somewhere in thirty. What happens next is your rule, not the app's. You can carry on and count the days done out of thirty, or start again.
The challenge's page shows Streak now beside Longest, your longest streak ever, so a missed day doesn't hide the run you already had. The month page still shows every day you did it. To start the count again with a clean page, add a new habit for the next round, and keep the old one as a record or delete it.
Print the month
A printed chart on the fridge or the desk is a second place to see the challenge. On the Habits screen, tap the printer button at the top left. Pick this month or last month, then Print chart, or Share chart as PDF to print it somewhere else.
You get a landscape page with a row for each habit and a column for each day of the month. Days you've ticked in the app come out filled, and the rest are empty boxes to tick by hand. Each page has a small "Habit Cat" line with the page number at its foot. For a challenge that crosses two months, print both. More on the chart in how to make a printable habit tracker.
Two challenges at once
You can add more than one. Each gets its own row, streak and tick, and the card at the top of the Habits screen counts how many are done today. For a set of daily steps rather than one challenge, see how to make a daily routine checklist.
What it costs
Everything above is free: as many habits as you like, every-day targets, reminders, streaks, ticking past days and the monthly chart. There are no ads and no account. Your habits are kept on your phone and in your own backups, and leave only when you print, share or export them.
Habit Cat Pro is an optional one-time purchase. It adds notes on any day up to today (like what you read or wrote that day), stats for each habit, an icon and colour for each habit, a year chart and a week sheet to print, and a CSV export. More on the Habit Cat page.
Quick answers
Does Habit Cat have a 30-day challenge mode?
No. A challenge is an every-day habit. The streak counts up from the first day, and the month page shows the days you ticked.
Does not ticking today break my streak?
Not until the day is over. The streak only breaks if the whole day passes without a tick.
I did it yesterday but forgot to tick. Can I add it?
Yes. Open the challenge and tap yesterday on the month calendar. If today is the 1st, go back a month first. You can tick any day up to today.
Can I do a challenge five days a week instead of every day?
Pick Days a week and set 5. Any five days in the week count, weekend days too, and the streak is counted in weeks. To be reminded only Monday to Friday, pick those weekday circles under Remind me.
Do I need an account?
No. There's no sign-in, and your habits are kept on your phone.
Try Habit Cat
Try Habit Cat: free, no ads, no sign-up → iyio.com/apps/habit-cat