Estimated read time: 2-3 minutes
This archived news story is available only for your personal, non-commercial use. Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information. Reading or replaying the story in its archived form does not constitute a republication of the story.
SALT LAKE CITY — A new iPhone app developed in Utah is easing people into the stress of keeping up with New Year’s resolutions.
Bucky Flowers, who lives in Alpine, said he and a friend, Jayden Anderson, came up with the idea over a weekend and decided it was the perfect way to start the new year.
The application is called LittleBit, and was built to encourage users to break off small goals and create habits in easy, manageable steps. Flowers said his background in psychology helped frame a lot of the way the program was designed.
“I have a degree in psych and am passionate about behavior change and habit design,” Flowers said.
LittleBit works to develop habits just a ‘little bit’ at a time. Instead of using lists of goals and involved planning and scheduling systems, LittleBit allows users to focus on just one habit or goal at a time, for 21 days
“There’s a really unique formula to habit forming using LittleBit,” Flowers said, “You make a habit that’s small. We restrict you to doing one thing at a time. It has to be small and has to be something that can be done every day.”
Flowers said he encourages users to choose simple, easy to monitor habits; he’s seen people use the app to help remember to floss their teeth or make their bed every day. Once a habit has been mastered at the end of three weeks, the user is able to go on and add a new project.
Flowers said LittleBit differs from other goal setting phone apps as well because instead of wiping out progress if a day or two is missed, it focuses on positive reinforcement. Users take a photo of their daily accomplishment that goes into a gallery. At the end of the 21 days, the photos are available for viewing. Any day missed just means a blank spot in the gallery.
“I like positive reinforcement,” Flowers said. “Every time you do your little habit you take a picture and get a little message. You celebrate a small win. That’s enough reinforcement to make you want to do it again. It releases chemicals in your brain to reinforce your habit.”
Flowers said the app has already found popularity among iPhone users since its Dec. 30 release. He and Anderson plan on building a version for Android phones as soon as they can.
