Human-First Habit Tracker Concept

Navigating the fast-growing habit tracking market requires more than just adding addictive loops or surface-level gamification. This project responds to a growing demand for tools that deliver real support for personal growth and well-being, with thoughtful design choices rooted in what users truly value: simplicity, privacy, and holistic motivation.

For what:

Recruitment task

Role:

Product Designer

Year:

2025

Challenge

The goal was to design a user-friendly, intuitive solution that helps users build and sustain positive daily habits while standing out from numerous existing solutions saturated with gamification and complex onboarding flows.

Design assumptions that I managed to implement


  • Conducting research to understand activation barriers within popular habit trackers and how real users engage with these tools.

  • Creating a seamless and friction-free user journey that reduces cognitive load and enables habit creation in under 10 seconds, counteracting typical 6-8 step workflows.

  • Developing a unique value proposition that prioritizes meaningful behavioral support over mere engagement metrics, with core features such as privacy-by-design, adaptive AI-driven habit suggestions, and immediate reward feedback loops.

  • Addressing critical business goals by crafting a solution that balances rapid activation, retention benchmarks superior to industry standards, and real-world habit formation psychology.

Research phase

Trends
According to The Future 100 report, users expect technologies that actively support well-being and personal growth, rather than ones built around competition or addictive triggers.




Competitor analysis
I reviewed the top habit tracking apps (Habitica, Habitify, Streaks, Loop).




Strengths
The most popular habit trackers excel in delivering engaging gamification mechanics, intuitive simplicity, and a range of useful integrations. These elements help maintain user interest and provide varied ways to customize and monitor habits effectively.



Challenges
However, many existing solutions complicate the user experience with unnecessarily lengthy workflows (often requiring over eight steps to add a new habit). Essential features are frequently obscured behind paywalls, limiting accessibility. Additionally, these apps tend to focus heavily on streaks and badges, sometimes at the expense of offering genuine, holistic support for lasting behavior change.



Pain Points

  • Excessive steps to create and track habits, increasing user friction.

  • Overemphasis on streaks and badges rather than meaningful behavioral reinforcement.

  • Distracting and cluttered interfaces that hinder user focus and motivation.



People demand apps that genuinely support human growth and well-being, not just addictive features

Friction-free flow & value delivery


User Flows comparison


As mentioned earlier, I identified a critical user pain point: lengthy onboarding flows in popular habit trackers that create friction and increase drop-off. To address this, I focused on streamliningthe entire habit creation process, aiming to significantly reduce the time it takes to add and complete the first habit.


The comparison below illustrates the typical multi-step user flow common in competitor apps versus my optimized flow that enables habit addition in under 10 seconds with minimal cognitive load.






Unique Value Proposition


  • Friction-free onboarding: No registration, learn by doing.

  • Adaptive & supportive: Ready-made templates plus AI-powered habit suggestions.

  • Privacy by design: Local-only data storage, optional sync.

  • Immediate reward loop: Instantly complete and check off the first habit.




Business Model Proposition



Reflections

In this task, I focused on reducing user activation time so users could start building habits quickly. I worked on making onboarding simple and friction-free while keeping the app supportive and trustworthy.


To optimize my workflow, I intentionally used a ready-made Apple UI kit, which saved time on visual design and allowed me to focus on research and identifying gaps in the market.


I’m also proud that within just four days I created and presented a clear concept. This experience showed me how small design choices can have a big impact when they address real user needs.