Visualize success: using Strides for habit development

• The importance of visual feedback in motivation and habit formation.
• Strides’ four flexible tracker types (Habit, Target, Average, Project).
• The key visualization tools: dashboards, charts, and calendars.
• How data insights from Strides can inform adjustments to your strategy.
• Who can benefit most from Strides’ data-centric approach.

The power of seeing your progress

• Motivation Boost: Seeing a streak grow on a calendar or a line chart trending upwards provides immediate positive reinforcement. It makes abstract goals feel concrete and progress feel real, fueling the desire to continue.
• Early Problem Detection: Charts can quickly reveal patterns you might otherwise miss. Is your consistency dipping on weekends? Is progress on a specific goal stalling? Visualizations act as an early warning system, allowing you to intervene before minor slips become major setbacks.
• Clarity on Long-Term Trends: While daily check-ins are important, seeing the bigger picture – your average success rate over a month, your progress towards a quarterly target – provides perspective and helps maintain focus on long-term objectives.
• Celebrating Small Wins: Visualizations highlight incremental progress, turning small daily actions into visible achievements. This helps combat discouragement when major breakthroughs seem far off.
• Data-Driven Decisions: Instead of relying on gut feeling, visual data allows you to make objective assessments about what’s working and what needs changing in your habit strategy.

Flexible tracking: the four Strides tracker types

1. Habit Tracker: The classic tracker for yes/no goals performed on specific days (e.g., “Meditate Daily,” “Go to the Gym Mon/Wed/Fri”). Ideal for building consistent routines. Visualized with streaks, success rates, and calendar views.
2. Target Tracker: For goals with a quantifiable target value to reach by a specific date (e.g., “Save $500 by June 30th,” “Lose 10 lbs by Christmas,” “Read 12 books this year”). Strides plots your progress against a target line, showing if you’re on track, ahead, or behind schedule.
3. Average Tracker: Used for tracking averages over time (e.g., “Sleep average of 7 hours/night,” “Drink average of 8 glasses of water/day,” “Spend less than $50/day on average”). Helps monitor trends and maintain consistency in variable activities.
4. Project Tracker (Milestones): Breaks down large projects into smaller milestones with due dates. Tracks the overall completion percentage as you check off each milestone. Useful for complex goals that aren’t daily habits but require consistent progress.

Visualizing success: Strides’ key tools

• Dashboard Overview: The main dashboard provides an at-a-glance view of all your trackers, showing current streaks, progress bars, or status indicators. Color-coding (often green for on-track, red for off-track) gives immediate feedback.
• Detailed Charts: Each tracker has its own dedicated screen with detailed visualizations:
  • Calendar View: Shows your history for yes/no habits, clearly highlighting streaks and missed days.
  • Streak Chart: Visualizes the length of your current and best streaks for habits.
  • Line Chart (Target/Average): Plots your progress over time against your goal line or tracks the rolling average.
  • Bar Chart (History): Shows your logged values over time for Target or Average trackers.
  • Success Rate: Calculates and displays your consistency percentage over various periods (week, month, year).
• Goal Pacing: The Target tracker explicitly shows whether you are on pace to meet your deadline, providing crucial feedback for time-sensitive goals.
• Filtering and Tagging: Organize trackers with tags (e.g., “Health,” “Work,” “Finance”) and filter your dashboard to focus on specific areas.

From data to action: leveraging Strides insights

• Identify Weak Points: Consistently red calendar days or a dipping average chart clearly signal areas needing more attention or a change in strategy.
• Adjust Goals: If the Target tracker shows you’re consistently far ahead or behind schedule, you can adjust the goal or deadline to be more realistic.
• Reinforce What Works: Seeing strong streaks or positive trends reinforces the effectiveness of your current approach, encouraging you to keep going.
• Stay Accountable: The clear visual representation of your commitments makes it harder to ignore slip-ups and encourages getting back on track.

Who benefits most from Strides?

• Data-Driven Individuals: Anyone who appreciates metrics, charts, and analyzing trends will find Strides highly satisfying.
• Goal-Oriented Achievers: The focus on tracking progress towards specific targets (numerical, deadlines) aligns well with achievement-focused personalities.
• Users Tracking Diverse Goals: The four flexible tracker types make it suitable for managing a wide range of habits and objectives beyond simple yes/no routines.
• Visual Learners: People who understand and are motivated by visual representations of information will appreciate the emphasis on charts and graphs.
• Those Needing Clear Feedback: If ambiguity demotivates you, Strides’ clear pacing indicators and success rates provide unambiguous feedback.