When habit apps work

• Many rely on a “streak” feature: they track how many consecutive days you’ve completed the habit;
• Other apps offer accountability features to pressure you into completing your goal; 
• Some apps turn habit formation into a game: The app rewards users who complete their habits w...

They're less about distilling your life into a series of data points and more about becoming your ideal self: If you use their app, you too can become a person who practices good habits. You can become someone who exercises and meditates every day and always drinks eight glasses of water.

“There is not an app that gives you some magical ability to change. The way that you change is you spend the time necessary to look at the change you want to accomplish, to try and figure out each day why you’re getting closer or farther away from it, to give yourself rewards in order to encourag...