Most habit apps are built around not breaking the chain. Miss a day and your streak is gone — along with any motivation you had built up.
Zestly is a free iOS app I built that takes the opposite approach. Instead of tracking streaks, it delivers short, fun activity prompts each day across six categories: Physical, Creative, Social, Mindset, Sound, and Mini Adventure. You rate how it went with an emoji, and at the end of the week everything resets.
No guilt. No long-term accumulation. Just a fresh week to try again.
Why No Streaks? #
Streaks create pressure. Once a streak becomes long enough, protecting it starts to feel more important than actually doing the habit. Miss one day and the whole thing feels ruined.
Zestly sidesteps this entirely with a weekly reset — you get a summary of how your week went, then the slate clears. The goal is to build enjoyment and consistency over time, not to maintain a perfect record.
What's in the App #
- 60+ default prompts across 6 categories
- Optional activity timers
- Morning and evening reminder notifications
- Emoji-based enjoyment ratings
- Weekly summary with insights and a reflection journal
- Achievement badges for milestones
- Custom prompt creation
- 4 themes: Playful, Energetic, Mindful, Minimal
- Fully offline — no account, no tracking, nothing leaves your device
Built With AI-Assisted Development #
Zestly was built using AI-assisted development — an approach I've been exploring for building small, focused tools quickly. It's a good example of how a solo developer can go from idea to App Store without a large team.
Zestly just launched on the App Store — download it free for iPhone.
