Habit Tracker

Where it started

I wanted a habit tracker that matched how I actually think about routines. Some things happen daily, others weekly or every few days, and I wanted one simple view that told me what needed doing without turning it into another productivity system to manage.

It also gave me a good excuse to build a small product entirely around my own requirements and see how far I could take a browser-based app.

What I wanted to build

The goal was a fast, installable app that felt closer to a native utility than a website. I settled on a seven-day view with flexible schedules, quick completion and streaks, with as little friction between opening the app and checking something off as possible.

How I built it

I made it a React PWA and kept the core data local with IndexedDB rather than requiring accounts and a backend. That made the app fast, usable offline and considerably simpler for something designed primarily as a personal tool.

Notifications complicated that decision. Browser push can't live entirely on-device, so I added a small serverless backend only for the part that needed it rather than moving the whole application online.

Where it led

The result is a small but complete PWA I still use as a test bed for ideas around recurring schedules, notifications and offline-first interfaces. More importantly, it was a useful exercise in not building infrastructure until the product actually required it.