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Habit Cycles
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The method

How Habit Cycles works

The method is a single shape applied to any habit: a bounded run with a beginning, a middle, and a real choice at the end. Inside that shape sit four moving pieces. Cycles give the run its edges. Habit groups let related activities count toward one cadence. Awareness habits track without a target. The review at the end turns the data into a decision: continue, change, replace, end.
SETUP RUN · 30 DAYS CHECK-IN before day one daily tracking, habit context one decision scope goal identity habit group · varied effort, single cadence awareness habit · tracked without a target continue change replace end four canonical decisions next cycle · the decision shapes the run that follows CONTEXT COLUMN · ONE LINE PER NOTABLE DAY fell asleep on the sofa at 9pm phone past 9pm, couldn’t switch off Wednesday felt heavy samples · written the same evening, read across the column at the check-in
One cycle, with every piece in its place.

New to habit tracking? Start with the beginner guide, How to start a habit that lasts.

Start here

The Advanced Habit Tracker's Guide: How to Build Habits That Last

The complete guide to running habits the way habits actually work. Written for people who already track. A walkthrough of cycles, habit groups, awareness habits, and the review.

Read the guide →

The framework

  1. The streak wave: build, plateau, crash, rebuild After years of tracking, I noticed the same pattern: build, plateau, crash, rebuild. The wave underneath every long streak. How to step out of the loop.
  2. Setting up a cycle Setup is where cycles are won or lost. Three decisions before you begin: the scope of the cycle, the goal you're running it for, and the identity it's helping you build.
  3. Binary habits A binary habit is one behaviour, tied to one trigger, answered yes or no. The default shape for habit design, with counts reserved for continuous variables.
  4. Habit groups Most goals are bigger than a single habit. A runner also needs strength work, rest days, and flexibility. Habit groups track all of those activities together.
  5. Awareness habits Awareness habits are tracked without a target. Over a cycle the pattern surfaces, and the rest of the practice has something honest to work with.
  6. The cycle check-in Every cycle ends with a decision: continue, change, replace, or end. The check-in is the moment where you look at the data, hear what it says, and choose what comes next.
  7. Habit context Alongside every cycle, gather habit context: short, dated notes on what happened with the habit, why it went as it did. Patterns surface once the column fills up.

Looking for a habit to run?

The library has 140 habits sized for cycles, with sample exit conditions and complementary pairings. Pick one, run it as a thirty-day cycle, review at the end.

Browse the library →