Want to read more or perhaps jog regularly? Perhaps you'd like to eat healthier or be consistently productive? Forming habits take effort, but thankfully there are quite a few apps to help coach you along the way. Why wait for New Year's to make resolutions when you can improve your life today?
iOS
Lift
This beautiful and simple app has been my addiction for the last several days. With the help of Twitter and Facebook, you and your social circle can help build positive habits by checking in on your accomplishments. There is a huge selection of habits to follow, such as read, write for 30 minutes, clean out your inbox, jog, sleep before midnight, drink more water, etc. Free
Healthy Habits Premium
Exercising healthy habits leads to an increase in energy, which optimizes your daily potential. Healthy Habits tracks your goals related to diet and exercise and rewards you with a satisfying achievement system. I find the post card to your future self a great touch to keep you motivated and on track. $5
Android
The Habit Factor
Habit Factor aims to help you meet your goals by forming healthy habits that will get you there. It comes with features such as habit alignment technology, which can speed up your progress by selecting the necessary habits surrounding your goals. It's a very professional app, with a high emphasis on results. $5
Also on iOS: $7
Habit Streak Pro
Sometimes the best method is to let the evidence speak for itself, and Habit Streak Pro is an approachable way to log your habits, good and bad. With the widget function you have quick access to pop in numbers, and when there's a spare moment you can see your progress through charts. An effective self motivator for anyone who requires more control over their numbers. $3
Windows Phone 7
Habitual
Need a heads up? Habitual works for even the pickiest user with customizable habits and a reminder system to give a nudge when needed. It supports multiple habits at a time and can be adjusted to meet scheduled ones that only occur on certain days. Receive badges and share your devotion to the task over Facebook or Twitter. Free
KickSmoking
Probably the king of all bad habits is smoking. You have to run to designated spots to satiate the urge several times a day, and everyone tells you off constantly. Only you can kick the habit, and when you decide to take the plunge, KickSmoking is an amazingly helpful coach to have on your side. This app pools the pros of quitting, such as listing money saved and health benefits. Free
(Images: 1. Jason Rodway, all others: as credited above.)
Must-See Small Cool Homes: Week Two
Beth's Romantic & Retro Residence
Good Food to Share 
The Big Book of Small, Cool Spaces 
Apartment Therapy Presents 
The Eight-Step Home Cure 
Shaw's Original Fir...
How to Bake a Potato: Three Easy Methods
How To Cook Tender, Chewy Wheat Berries on the Stovetop
This reminds me of a nice piece in the NY Times on how Americans' continual pursuit of happiness engenders only more anxiety.
http://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/09/22/america-the-anxious/
An anxious American
The Habit Factor is free - I'll let you know if I get any more anxious.
Anyone have any of these apps? I feel like ok, you're unproductive or have something you'd like to change so you get this app - and then you spend all day on your phone? That seems like it could turn into angry birds pretty quickly.
Thank you, @the cubby.
That article did more for me than any of those apps ever could. I might even print it and keep it on my desk!
Great timing....I was JUST looking for an app like this!.... I can't find "Habitual".... is that the correct name?
I think these apps could help if you are working towards one specific goal. Goals like: exercizing daily, eating more veggies, or improving posture. Trying to work on a bunch of things at once is futile! There is a reason why small realistic goals are encouraged. If I tried to do all the things on these lists I'd go nuts!
Or into too much Apartment Therapy for that matter!!
I'm using Lift right now and I think it's great. It is easy to use and it definitely doesn't require me to check my phone constantly. I either open it after I have done the action that I am looking to make into a habit (ie biking to work) and a few taps later, I have it marked, or I open it before bed and mark everything that I did that day. I have about 10 things that I am working on right now and I really feel like I have gotten better about a bunch of them! I would definitely recommend this app! (But, I haven't tried the other ones.)