How to use Wachsen
1. Getting Started
When you open Wachsen for the first time, a short onboarding introduces the concept of habit strength and guides you through creating your first habit. You can also choose from starter suggestions like water, exercise, reading, meditation, or a consistent bedtime.
No account is required to start using Wachsen.
2. Creating a Habit
- Tap the + button to create a new habit.
- Enter a name, choose an emoji or icon, and pick a color.
- Set a frequency: Daily, specific weekdays, or X times per week / month.
- Optionally add a unit target (e.g. "30 minutes", "8 glasses") and a reminder time.
- Tap Save.
Your new habit appears on the Today screen on all scheduled days.
3. Checking In
On the Today screen, you see all habits scheduled for today. Tap a habit once to mark it as done — you will see an animation confirming the check-in.
For unit-based habits (e.g. glasses of water), a slider or number input appears so you can log the actual amount.
Partial completion: You can also mark a habit as partially done. A partial check-in counts as a weaker entry and still contributes to your habit strength — it is never all-or-nothing.
Logging past days: If you forgot to check in, tap the calendar icon and select a past day (up to 7 days back) to retroactively log your habit.
4. Understanding Habit Strength
Each habit has a strength score from 0–100 %. It measures how consistently you show up over the past four weeks, with recent days weighted more heavily than older ones.
- Green (strong): You are showing up consistently.
- Yellow (medium): Some gaps, but still on track.
- Red (weak): The habit needs attention.
A missed day lowers the score slightly. Returning after a gap raises it again — there is no reset, no point of no return. Every completed check-in moves the needle.
5. Statistics and Progress
Tap any habit to open its detail view. There you will find:
- A heatmap calendar showing your completion rate per day by color intensity
- A strength graph showing how your habit strength has changed over time
- Your strongest phase (not a streak, but your most consistent period)
- Total check-ins and completion rates for the last 7, 30, and 90 days
6. Vacation Mode
Going away? Activate vacation mode for a habit to freeze it for a defined period. During that time, you will receive no reminders and the pause has no impact on the habit strength calculation. You can also retroactively mark individual past days as "sick day" or "exception" — these count as neutral in the statistics.
7. Widgets
Wachsen includes three widget sizes for your home screen and Lock Screen:
- Small (2×2): Today's overall progress as a ring and the number of completed habits.
- Medium (2×4): A list of today's habits with interactive checkboxes — tap directly to check in without opening the app.
- Lock Screen: A compact progress ring for a quick glance.
To add a widget, long-press your home screen, tap the + button, and search for Wachsen.