[FEATURE REQUEST] Negative habits

[lilcheeks]

Is it possible to have negative habits? Like if you want to quit smoking and you have a cigarette maybe you lose a coin or something.

[dohsimpson]

Thanks for reporting this. Since this is a popular request, I will add this feature to HT.

Can I get some feedbacks on the following approaches, which ones do you prefer, and what changes do you propose.

1. The "Penalty Jar" Approach

• Concept: You define a habit you want to avoid (e.g., "Snacking after 10 PM"). If you engage in this behavior, you log it, and a predefined number of coins are deducted from your balance.
• How it works:
• You create a "negative habit" by assigning a "negative coin" to it.
• When you perform the unwanted action, you mark it (e.g., tap the complete button).
• UI: Negative habits are shown at the bottom of the dashboard daily habit section, with red borders around it
• Coins are immediately subtracted.
• There's no reward for not doing it, only a penalty for doing it.
• Pros:
• Direct Disincentive: Provides a clear, immediate consequence for the unwanted behavior, making the "cost" tangible.
• Simple to Understand: The cause-and-effect (did bad thing -> lose coins) is straightforward.
• Low Interaction if Successful: If you're successfully avoiding the habit, you don't need to interact with it daily. You only log failures.
• Cons:
• Can Feel Punitive: Constant penalties might be demotivating, especially if you're struggling to break the habit. It could lead to frustration.
• Relies on Honest Reporting of Failures: Users might be tempted to not log an indulgence to avoid the penalty, defeating the purpose.
• Focus on Negativity: This approach emphasizes failure rather than reinforcing the positive behavior of avoidance.
• No Reward for Effort: Successfully resisting the urge for a day (or week) goes unacknowledged by the system.

2. The "Avoidance Champion" Approach

• Concept: You define a habit you want to avoid. Each day (or period) you successfully avoid performing that habit, you mark it as a success, potentially earning a small coin reward and building an "avoidance
streak."
• How it works:
• You create a "negative habit" (e.g., "No social media during work hours").
• At the end of each day/period, if you successfully avoided it, you mark it (e.g., tap completion button).
• If you did perform the habit, you simply wouldn't mark it as "Avoided," and your coins will be deducted.
• Pros:
• Positive Reinforcement: Rewards and celebrates the success of avoiding the unwanted behavior.
• Motivating Streaks: Building an "avoidance streak" can be a powerful motivator, similar to completion streaks for positive habits.
• Focus on Success: Shifts the focus from punishing failure to rewarding the effort of restraint.
• Cons:
• Daily Interaction Required: You need to remember to log your success every day, even if "nothing happened" (which is the goal). This could become a chore.
• Potential for "Unearned" Rewards: If avoiding the habit on a particular day required no effort, a coin reward might feel unearned.
• No Direct Penalty for Failure: Simply breaking a streak might not be a strong enough disincentive for some users if they indulge in the negative habit.

3. The "Mindful Tracker" (Hybrid) Approach

• Concept: This approach offers flexibility. You define a habit to avoid, and then choose how to track it: focus purely on an avoidance streak, optionally add a penalty for indulgence, and/or optionally add a
small reward for successful avoidance.
• How it works:
• When creating a "negative habit," you can configure:
• Its name and description (e.g., "Avoid impulse buys").
• An optional coin penalty if you indulge.
• An optional coin reward if you successfully avoid it for the defined period (e.g., daily).
• Each day/period, you'd log whether you indulged or avoided it:
• Logged Indulgence: Applies penalty (if set), breaks avoidance streak.
• Logged Avoidance: Applies reward (if set), builds/continues avoidance streak.
• Pros:
• User-Centric Flexibility: You can tailor the system to what motivates you best – whether it's the carrot, the stick, or just the satisfaction of a streak.
• Promotes Mindfulness: The act of deciding and then logging encourages conscious thought about the behavior.
• Balanced Approach: Can combine positive reinforcement for avoidance with negative consequences for indulgence, if desired.
• Adaptable: You could start with just streak tracking and add penalties/rewards later as you get more serious about quitting the habit.
• Cons:
• Slightly More Complex Setup: More options to consider when defining the negative habit.
• Interaction Overhead: Still requires regular logging to be effective, similar to the "Avoidance Champion."
• Requires Self-Awareness: You need to decide what combination of rewards/penalties will work best for you.

[mirisbowring]

Actually I would take a modified 2.

You mentioned a "Streak".
If you think about an alcoholic, and he quits drinking, the first days he "avoids" it, he gets a small number of coins per day. But as long as his Streaks is not interrupted, the amount slowly increases. If he drinks then again, the streak would be broken. The longer the streak, the bigger the penalty. But i would not restart the streak from zero i think. If it was e.g. a one time thing and he is sober after, the streak could "recover".

For me it would be sugar e.g. I would like to stop eat sweats but there may be an occurrence e.g. a wedding where i would eat a cake. So my streak will drop but can recover. If i continue with my bad habits the streak will continue to drop.

A little bit like an ELO system i think.

Sidenote: Preciously i thought it would be better to have "complete" by default and "set fail" actively. But in the past days i started tracking my habits and realized that giving this "i achieved it" is somehow a reward and you have to "work" to fix your bad habits.

[lilcheeks]

I honestly like your modified 2 and #1. My case may be unique but i am also using this with my young children and it is nice to have a "Penalty Jar" for when they act out or hit a sibling. I think the modified 2 option will probably be a feature more people would use so I would suggest that one. Either way I will make it work for my kids. :D

[absynth42]

I think I like #3 best. The cons for #2 and #3, especially daily logging, don't apply if you have positive habit building too. So I think pros outweigh cons and more flexibility is always better.