Keeping a habit streak one tap at a time

I have tried every habit tracker under the sun. Charts, journals, apps with badges and streaks. They all lasted about a week before I forgot to open them.

What finally worked was embarrassingly simple: a counter I tap each time I do the thing. Ten press-ups, one tap. A glass of water, one tap. Reading for twenty minutes, one tap.

I keep this counter on my phone’s home screen. At the end of the day I can see exactly how many good choices I made. No accounts, no subscriptions, no gamified nonsense.

I am on day forty of my morning walk streak. Seeing the number climb is the whole reward, and it works better than any app I ever paid for.

• Rober Orbituary