Keeping track of recurring tasks

August 18, 2013 11:41 AM

I've kind of started to implement htid's excellent advice regarding breaking depression-based habits, but I don't have a good way to keep track of my goals. So, what's a good way for me to keep track of how many times I've done multiple different tasks? Paper and pencil doesn't really work for me. Something I can do on my iPhone would be best.

I use google calendar, but it doesn't seem to be exactly suited to this. If I'm wrong and there's a way I can set it up to do this, that'd be excellent.

For example, let's say I want to floss 20 times, go for an evening walk 15 times, and eat only home meals (i.e., nothing purchased at a restaurant) for every meal in a day 25 times. I want a simple way to check these things off as I do them, and I want it to track how many times I've checked them, and (ideally) when I checked them.

Googling around, I found Time Flies, which seemed perfect, but it doesn't look like it exists anymore.

I'd be willing to put some time into initial setup, but after that I'd like it to be quick and easy.

posted by SugarAndSass to Grab Bag (9 answers total)

Best answer: Try Joe's Goals. Incidentally, I think htid basically recommended using SMART criteria for your goals, and I'd agree with that.
posted by Monsieur Caution at 11:51 AM on August 18, 2013 [1 favorite]

Oh, googling for iPhone apps that do what Joe's Goals does turns up a lot of hits for 42 Goals, but it occurs to me you could use Daytum or just Numbers for iPhone to track a lot of quantifiable goals.
posted by Monsieur Caution at 11:57 AM on August 18, 2013

Best answer: Wonderful Day is a great app for this. Due is also great, very handy for recurring tasks.
posted by Happy Dave at 12:06 PM on August 18, 2013

I've found Health Month to be an amazing tool for just this purpose, especially with the support of the MetaFilter team there. It can seem a little confusing, but there was a recent MeTa about it. (It's not just for health-related goals, either. One of my rules is to practice Spanish for 30 mins a day.)

I'd also second Happy Dave and suggest Due for reminding you about what needs to be done. It completely changed my life.
posted by Room 641-A at 1:10 PM on August 18, 2013

Best answer: Habit List will let you setup a bunch of goals, along with the frequency with which you want to complete them.
posted by backwards guitar at 3:50 PM on August 18, 2013

I do this with Due. It is awesome. It syncs with a (Mac) desktop client if you want, so you can manage it on both your computer (Mac) and your phone.
posted by Skyanth at 8:10 AM on August 19, 2013

Best answer: Way of Life would suit you perfectly. It's flexible, simple, but allows you to skip days.
posted by dinosaurprincess at 10:13 AM on August 19, 2013 [1 favorite]

Not quite what you've asked for, but I love Chains.
posted by bink at 10:29 AM on August 19, 2013

dinosaurprincess: "Way of Life would suit you perfectly. It's flexible, simple, but allows you to skip days."

Thanks for that recommendation, what a nice little app. If it could allow you to define how many times per week you aim to do each goal, it'd be perfect.
posted by Happy Dave at 11:08 AM on August 28, 2013