We know deep down what we should do to succeed, but it is TOUGH to form good habits. I heard about a free app called Habitica, and I downloaded it to my Android phone. With Habitica you can create habits, daily tasks, and to-do lists that affect your custom avatar. If you achieve your goals, your avatar gains experience, gold, and levels. If you fail, your avatar loses health points. The chunky graphics reminded me of the original Zelda, which seems to have been the inspiration behind the app.
At first I found the interface a bit confusing, but I caught on fairly quickly. I created a "Daily (the calendar icon at the bottom), then set it to "Daily", and "repeat every 1 day". Every day the daily appears "Pray every AM for 5 minutes", and I must pray and check it off to preserve my avatar's health.
You can also set up positive or negative habits. For example, if you want to quit smoking, you can create a negative habit called "smoked a cigarette". Every time you smoke, you tap on the negative symbol to the right side of the habit, and it will hurt your avatar. A positive habit, such as flossing your teeth, could be set up as a positive habit. Each time you tap it your avatar gains gold and experience. Once the experience bar is filled up, you level up. You can purchase weapons, armor, and mounts with gold. There is a social aspect of Habitica, you can form a "party", where you fight monsters together, and your failures and successes affect the group. Most of Habitica can be enjoyed for free, but you need gems for quests, eggs, and potions. Gems can be purchased for around 25 cents USD each.
This app is surprisingly effective, and boasts over 2 million users. I wanted to keep myself accountable to praying each morning, as it is something I've tried to do for many years. As silly as it sounds, I didn't want my imaginary avatar to get hurt! I highly recommend giving this app a try, and please share your story below if you have tried this app. Thanks for reading!