After writing about the “Don’t Break the Chain” technique, the software engineering side of me got thinking: is there a “Don’t Break the Chain” app similar to the “National Novel Writing Month” (NaNoWriMo) website that lets you track goals on your phone?
Exploring Existing Options
A quick ChatGPT session revealed two potential apps:
- “Don’t Break the Chain” - a free iOS app with in-app purchases
- Streams - a more modern app with Apple Health integration
Both looked promising for tracking daily habits and maintaining motivation through visual chains of completed days.
The Developer’s Dilemma
But here’s where things get interesting (or dangerous, depending on how you look at it): I might get “totally distracted” and create my own app instead.
Why? Because it could be a perfect learning opportunity for technologies I want to explore: TypeScript and Electron development.
If I Built It…
If I do create an app, my philosophy would be simple:
- Keep it simple - No feature bloat
- Personal tracking - Track something meaningful, like days spent learning TypeScript
- Local storage - Save data locally in an iCloud folder
- Avoid over-engineering - Resist the temptation to add every possible feature
The Real Question
The question is: will I actually follow through with building it, or will I wisely use one of the existing apps and focus my energy elsewhere?
Knowing myself, there’s a good chance I’ll at least prototype something. After all, the best way to learn new technology is to build something you’ll actually use. And what better project than a tool to track learning the very technologies you’re using to build it?
The irony isn’t lost on me: I might break my coding chain while building an app to prevent breaking chains.