Where Imprint comes from

Imprint didn't start as an app. For several years I ran my own habits like a small workshop: a few habits at a time, each one scored before starting and given a fixed nine-week cycle.

The first version was a home-made dashboard built from iOS Shortcuts and widgets. Then came a paper sheet: 63 small circles split into three blocks, the first block shaded red because that's where habits break most often. Clean weeks got circled with a marker. Finished cards were cut out and kept in a small stack of trophies.

Imprint is that paper sheet, rebuilt for iPhone.

The idea

A habit is a fragile thing. It can crack, and it can break — and it is most fragile at the start. A missed day early on costs more than a missed day at the end. And even a habit that sticks can fade when life changes.

How it works

• Every habit has a strength that drops when you miss a day — faster in the early stage.
• Habits run in finite cycles with stages, and you see the whole cycle at once, like on paper.
• You run only a few habits at a time. The rest wait their turn.
• A broken habit doesn't quietly disappear. It asks for a decision.

What's deliberately missing

No streaks to be afraid of losing. No completion percentages, confetti or leaderboards. No guilt when you decide to let a habit go.