Lift iPhone app review

Need help developing good habits? Lift might be the app you need.

Lift iPhone app
Lift has a clean, simple design

Lift
Free
Lift Worldwide

Jerry Seinfeld used to use a wall calendar to motivate himself to write jokes every day. According to software programmer Brad Isaac, who once asked the comedian for advice, for every day that Seinfeld sat down and wrote material he would put a big red X on his calendar.

As the days went by the chain of Xs would grow longer and Seinfeld's would be more committed to writing because he wouldn't want to break the chain. "Skipping one day makes it easier to skip the next," Isaac said.

A similar philosophy is behind Lift, an iPhone app from a company backed by Twitter founders Ev Williams and Biz Stone. The app allows you to develop a habit you would like to build - exercise, for example, or eating more fruit - and then lets you check in once you've done it.

The app considers your goal to be met if you perform the habit three times a week but it will also track daily streaks and note those too.

There is a social element to Lift: if you add goals that others are trying to achieve too then you will see everyone who checks-in to that habit. You can connect Lift to Facebook or Twitter, too, if you want to see which friends from those sites are using the service.

If you want, you can support someone's efforts by giving them 'props' - the equivalent of a Facebook 'like'. Unless you notice when someone gives props, it can be hard to tell who has done so. I've been beta-testing the app for a couple of weeks and I have received 13 props on my 26 check-ins. Unfortunately, I can't see an easy way to tell who those kind people were.

If the social element leaves you cold, Lift still has value as a Seinfeld-style self motivator. Its design is simple and clear - tap the big green tick to check-in, then drill down to see more details of how well you've pursued your goal.

It's straightforward, it's free and it might just give you the motivation you need to achieve a goal you've been pursuing. Give it a try.