The Journal App Making Journal: Day 34

FlashChat app update 2, and more on Designing Your Life and Clear Habit journaling

What have I learned about app design and development today?

Very exciting day! Created the first user account using Firebase.

Firebase is a third party library / suite of app development tools backed by Google. It is particularly known for taking care of user account management features.

When I am watching the results video now, it is a mere 4 screens and all functionalities done in under 60 seconds. Yet the amount of setup that went behind it today is … not sure what the word is, disproportionate? Looking for an expression more appropriately representative of the emotional experience.

One way to describe it is:

• Before importing Firebase, and up to the point of simply creating the welcome screen animation in the last update, the Build process of the app project showed a statistic of completing 53 tasks, which I timed to take 12 seconds.
• After introducing Firebase, the Build had to complete 5695 tasks, which took a tad over 20 minutes, and that did not include any of the preceding installation time for a mere two Firebase pods.

At the end of the day, all this simply adds a single feature, of being able to have user accounts in an app… I am, amazed, once again.

What have I learned about journaling products / technologies / users today?

> Designing Your Life Journals

Since the inauguaral Life Design Team meeting on the weekend, the team setup a group chat to stay in contact, and perhaps share one or two journal entries every other day.

Comparing to when I did the DYL journals on my own, having a group to do this with definitely helps making me do it.

> Clear Habit Journal

Since unboxing the Clear Habit Journal the other day, I have been looking into James Clear’s journaling system.

For the design of his journal, the first section has 12 pages, each with 31 lines, one page per month. The section is titled “One Line Per Day”. Only one line? I was surprised. Then I read his explanation below,

“The easiest way to keep a daily journal. Write a prompt at the top, then use that as the basis for your daily one-line entry.”

Being the author of the bestselling book, Atmoic Habits, I guess unless it is one-line, it is not atomic. And so, the message of book is embodied here in this design,

“You do not rise to the level of your goals. You fall to the level of your systems.

… This is the meaning of the phrase atomic habits — a regular practice or routine that is not only small and easy to do, but also the source of incredible power; a component of the system of compound growth.

… Success is the product of daily habits — not once-in-a-lifetime transformations.”

I have also been re-reading the book, and loved being reminded of the following:

“Nearly everyone can benefit from getting their thoughts out of their head and onto paper, but most people give up after a few days or avoid it entirely because journaling feels like a chore.

The secret is to always stay below the point where it feels like work. … Nearly any larger life goal can be transformed into a two-minute behaviour. …

Standardize before you optimize. You can’t improve a habit that doesn’t exist.”

Wow, what do you know? I always did find systems somehow fascinating! =)

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