Did you read on Tuesday, or was that last week? A habit is easy to start and hard to remember a few days later. Writing it down each day you do it settles the question. This guide covers how to set up a habit so it's easy to track, then how to do it with Habit Cat, our habit list for iPhone with one tick a day.
How to set up a habit you can track
A habit is easier to tick when it's clear whether you did it today.
- Name the action, not the goal. "Read 20 pages" or "Walk after lunch" is something you either did or didn't do today.
- Pick how often. Some habits are every day. Others, like going to the gym, are a number of days a week, and any days count.
- Tick it on the day. One tick per day you did it. Missed ticking it? Add it later, but only for days that have already happened.
- Look at the run. A streak, the number of days or weeks in a row, shows at a glance whether a habit is still going.
Add your first habit
- Open Habit Cat. On an empty list, tap Add a habit. Later, use the + button at the top of the Habits screen.
- Type a name. The box suggests one: Name, e.g. Read 20 pages.
- Under How often, pick Every day or Days a week. For days a week, use the stepper to set from 1 day a week up to 7 days a week (it starts at 3).
- Tap Save.
Add as many habits as you like. Each one gets a row on the Habits screen with its name, its streak, the last seven days as small squares, and a big round tick for today.
Tick it each day
Tap the round tick on a habit's row when you've done it today. Tap it again to untick it. The card at the top counts how many are done, like "2 of 5 done today", with a row of pills that fill in.
A weekly habit only counts there until its week is met. Once you've done "Gym, 3 days a week" three times this week, it stops being counted as due for the rest of the week, unless you tick it again.
Keep the streak going
Each row shows the streak under the habit's name:
- An every-day habit shows days in a row, like 12-day streak. With no streak yet it just says Every day.
- A days-a-week habit shows this week's count and the streak in weeks, like 2 of 3 this week · 4-week streak. A week counts toward the streak when you hit the number you set.
Today isn't over yet, so not having ticked it yet doesn't break your streak. Tick it before the day ends and the streak goes up by one. For a weekly habit, it works the same way for the week you're in.
Weeks start on the day your iPhone's settings start them, so a Monday-start week and a Sunday-start week both count correctly.
Tap a habit's row to open its page. At the top, Streak now sits beside Longest, your longest streak ever.
Fill in a day you missed
Forgot to tick yesterday? Open the habit's page. Under the streaks is a calendar for the month, with the number of days ticked that month under the month's name.
- Tap any day up to today to tick or untick it. Days after today are greyed out and can't be ticked.
- Use the arrows, or swipe, to go back to earlier months.
Ticking a missed day counts toward your streaks, so if that day was the gap, the streak joins up again.
Set a reminder
- Open the habit's page and tap Edit (or set it up when you add the habit).
- Turn on Remind me.
- Pick a Time.
- Leave the weekday circles empty for every day, or tap the days you want. The note underneath says Every day. or Only on the days picked.
- Tap Save.
iOS asks for permission the first time there's a reminder to set, not when you open the app. The reminder says "Time for" and the habit's name. If notifications for Habit Cat are off in Settings, turning on Remind me shows a note saying so, with an Open Settings button.
iOS keeps at most 64 pending reminders for an app. Every-day reminders use one each and picked weekdays use one per day, so this only matters with a lot of reminders. If a habit's reminder doesn't fit, its page says it won't ring.
For a different kind of reminder, see how to remember to water plants.
Change, reorder or delete a habit
- Change it: on the habit's page, tap Edit. Switching between Every day and Days a week keeps every day you've ticked.
- Reorder: with two or more habits, tap the arrows button at the top of the Habits screen and drag them into the order you want.
- Delete: tap Edit, then Delete Habit. It asks first, because its whole history goes too and it can't be undone.
What it costs
Habit Cat is free to use with as many habits as you like, every-day or days-a-week targets, reminders, streaks, ticking past days and your whole history. 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 stats for each habit, notes on any day, an icon and colour for each habit, a year chart and a week sheet to print, and a CSV export. If you ever lose Pro, every tick, streak and note stays. More on the Habit Cat page.
Quick answers
Does not ticking today break my streak?
Not until the day is over. Today stays open, so the streak only breaks if the whole day passes without a tick.
I forgot to tick yesterday. Can I add it?
Yes. Open the habit and tap yesterday on the month calendar. You can tick any day up to today, but not days still to come.
Can I track a habit that isn't every day?
Yes. Pick Days a week and set how many. Any days in the week count, and the streak is counted in weeks.
Do I need an account?
No. There's no sign-in, and your habits are kept on your phone.
Will changing a habit's target lose my ticks?
No. Editing a habit keeps every day you've ticked, even when you change how often it's meant to happen.
Try Habit Cat
Try Habit Cat: free, no ads, no sign-up → iyio.com/apps/habit-cat