Launch HN: Demigod (YC S19) – Build compounding habits with a dedicated coach

I "signed up" with Apple Login and then it asks for all the info again.

Seems like a great idea!

The latest crop of note taking & productivity apps is really disappointing.

I like this feature.

When the pandemic first hit, I realized how important routines and (associated) metrics would be in keeping me afloat in a tumultuous time. To that end, I built my own little CLI-based habit/checklist tracker and started analyzing trends and habits on a weekly and monthly basis.

It worked great at first, I had a privileged insight into my week and could therefore fine-tune parameters to optimize for certain metrics. However, as the pandemic dragged on, the drudgery of waking up from my bed and working from my desk (which is a foot away [0]) eventually caught up to me and I started burning out. Looking back, a relentless pursuit to optimize for certain KPIs was part of the reason. Having successfully mechanized a large of my life with little room for error (for fear of rebuke from those pretty charts in Tableau), I started dreading those weekly-check ins with myself, eventually dropping the habit altogether. My tracker went poof soon after that. After all, there will be no rebuke from a chart if there is no chart to begin with :))

A couple months later, I cleared the backend database, and started anew. I had also come to realize over this "break" that I should not tie my self-worth to some graphs [1], and if I was getting the important stuff done, I had little to worry about. My "system" since then has been working fairly well, I use Trello to keep track of stuff, and if something super alarming pops up, I investigate. If not, I let things flow.

I believe it would help your user retention massively if you could remind users you are not a drill sergeant, but are there to help. And part of helping them is to sometimes remind them that (bad) metrics are not a judgement of their character and its okay to let things slide. You can always start anew.

Good luck to y'all, I wish you well! :)

[0] - I am an undergrad living in off-campus housing. Real-estate is unfortunately an expensive luxury at my time in life.

[1] - I recommend Jenny Odell's book "How to do Nothing" to anyone feeling like they are on a never-ending treadmill. There are parts of it that I didn't like, but all in all, it was a good read.

While I really like the concept (esp since it means I don't need to make my own workouts, which was often an excuse I used not to workout) I haven't found the accountability aspect very effective, I was at it for a few months and then dropped off, despite the daily "YOU GOT THIS!!" text from a stranger on the other side of the country.

It's entirely plausible that at the end of the day I'm just lazy/not motivated enough and no amount of accountability will be helpful, but I wonder if there's a better form of accountability, particularly through likeminded social circles, you could integrate.

Just riffing (using workout as the habit, since I will absolutely pay big $$ if something gets me to work out more, future is $150/m);

  1. Social shaming
    a. the app notifies a bunch of friends every time you miss a workout.
    b. I pay for someone to blow up my phone / texts ad infinatum at a certain time until I'm in the gym's geofence.

  2. Material loss 
    a. you use Plaid to pull $XX out of my account and send it to my buddy every time I miss a workout.
    b. set aside some large amount of $$ like $1000 and if I don't get to the gym 20x in a month, confirmed by a third party, the money is gone forever.

  3. Material gain;
    a. join a group of friends; y'all put $100 in a pot, add 1 point for every workout and subtract 3 points for every miss. When the squad hits 100 points you spend the money on a trip to Fogo de Chão. If you go below 0 the money is gone forever.
    b. partner with gyms & give a 40% membership discount if the person has a rolling 15 days / month attendance.