Simple • Low-pressure • Neuroscience-aligned

This template is phone-first and designed to:

Reduce overwhelm
Reward effort (not perfection)
Prevent dopamine burnout
Work in Notes / Notion / Any habit app

You can copy-paste this directly.

🔑 DESIGN PRINCIPLES (WHY THIS WORKS)

✅ Track starting, not duration
✅ One habit at a time
✅ Visual progress = controlled dopamine
❌ No streak shame
❌ No time obsession

📄 TEMPLATE 1 — DAILY HABIT CARD (CORE)

📅 Date:
🎯 Habit Name:
⏱️ Tiny Start (2 min):

🔔 Trigger:
📍 Location:
🧠 Intention (1 line):

⬜ Started (Yes / No)
⬜ Finished (Optional)

📝 Notes (optional, 1 line):

Example

📅 12 Sept
🎯 Writing
⏱️ Open doc & write 1 sentence

🔔 7:30 AM alarm
📍 Desk
🧠 “Start ugly.”

☑ Started
⬜ Finished

📝 Momentum came after 5 min

🧠 Why it works

Checking “Started” releases dopamine
Finishing is a bonus, not pressure
Brain learns: starting = reward

📆 TEMPLATE 2 — WEEKLY VIEW (ANTI-STREAK SHAME)

WEEK: ___________

Mon  ⬜ Start
Tue  ⬜ Start
Wed  ⬜ Start
Thu  ⬜ Start
Fri  ⬜ Start
Sat  ⬜ Start
Sun  ⬜ Start

🟢 Wins this week:
🟡 Friction noticed:
🔵 One thing to adjust:

📌 Rule:
Missing a day = data, not failure.

🔁 TEMPLATE 3 — EFFORT → REWARD LOG (OPTIONAL BUT POWERFUL)

Effort Done → Reward Allowed

🛠 Effort:
🎁 Reward:
⏱ Delay (min):

Did reward feel better?  Yes / No

Example

🛠 Write 10 min
🎁 YouTube
⏱ Delay: 10

Yes — guilt-free

🧠 This reconditions dopamine prediction.

🌙 TEMPLATE 4 — NIGHT CLOSURE (CRITICAL)

🌙 Night Closure (2 min)

✅ Started today:
🏁 Finished today:
➡️ Next tiny step tomorrow:

😌 Mind state before sleep (1 word):

🧠 Effect:

Closes open loops
Reduces anxiety
Improves next-day motivation

📊 TEMPLATE 5 — 30-DAY PROGRESS MAP (LOW PRESSURE)

DAY:    1  2  3  4  5  6  7
START:  ☑  ⬜  ☑  ☑  ⬜  ☑  ☑

DAY:    8  9 10 11 12 13 14
START:  ☑  ☑  ⬜  ☑  ☑  ☑  ⬜

📌 Do NOT count streaks
Just visual density of starts.

🎨 UI / COLOR SUGGESTION (MOBILE-FRIENDLY)

Theme: Teal + Soft Orange + Charcoal
Checkmarks: Soft green (no red ❌)
Font: Rounded / friendly (no harsh UI)
Icons: 🧠 ⏱️ ☑ 🔔 🌙

⚠️ COMMON MISTAKES TO AVOID

❌ Tracking too many habits
❌ Measuring hours instead of starts
❌ Punishing missed days
❌ Turning tracker into performance tool

🟨 GOLDEN RULE (PIN THIS)

A habit that starts survives. A habit that waits dies.

🧠 ONE-LINE SCIENCE SUMMARY

Tracking starts trains dopamine to reward action, not perfection.