Writer Antoine de Saint-Exupéry wrote, “A goal without a plan is just a wish.” When we look at our lives, I’m sure we can all think of goals we’ve had that have gone unrealized. It might be related to education, work, relationships, or health, but one question is worth considering: “Did you make a plan?”
Benjamin Franklin put it this way: “If you fail to plan, you are planning to fail.” I’m now approaching 40 years old and I’m a little bit tired of reaching for goals yet so often coming up short. With new year’s resolutions soon to be upon us, most of us will resolve to be better but fail before February even rolls around.
That’s why, with the help of Fabulous, I’m taking things into my own hands. This app uses psychology and behavioral science to help you create healthy habits that stick. It does this by transferring control of behavior from willpower to your environment. In effect, Fabulous automates behavior by planning where, when, and how an action will happen.
This is part of a regular series of articles exploring the apps that we couldn't live without. Read them all here.
The power of this is proven with the simple example of how we design our bathrooms. When we get out of the shower, we need a towel that helps us get dry while keeping us warm. That’s our goal and we design our space to guarantee it’s available either on the hook or the radiator. Similarly, the Fabulous app helps us organize our environment to help us make decisions that will lead to us achieving our goals.
The app begins by asking a series of questions about your motivation for using the app. It wants to know what you’re hoping to achieve and how often you'll engage with the app. All of this helps Fabulous create the perfect routine just for you.
My generated routine centered around the goal of drinking water and spending time meditating but yours might hone in on different things. Routines are split up into the morning, afternoon, and evening with the ability to add habits such as exercising, tidying up, or meditating.
Once you’ve set your routines, Fabulous takes over and works hard at keeping you on track. It does this through the app interface and by sending you reminder notifications. After a little while, I noticed a tendency to start ignoring the prompts, which reminded me that I’ve still got to put in the hard work for it to be a success.
Along with daily routines, I also loved the app’s Daily Coachings. These are short two or three-minute audio clips that keep the motivation for life change going. Covering a wide range of subjects, and with an incredible voiceover, the motivational snippets are perfect for reorienting your focus back onto what really matters. I really valued adding these into my daily routines as a regular reminder of why I was doing what I was doing.
The final element of the app that keeps me on the straight and narrow path is the journal feature. Personally, I found the digital journal an inferior alternative to pen and paper but it was a good reminder of the importance of reflection when trying to make significant life changes. Having my musings collected in a ‘library’ within the app also made it super easy to go back and read over old entries.
I’m excited about the small changes I’m making, which I believe will lead to big results. I’m not 100% sure that I’ll need the app once I’ve cemented new habits but it’ll certainly play an important role in helping me leave willpower behind and get on a new path.
Fabulous can be experienced using a 7-day free trial. This is a good length of time that will enable you to understand how the app works and whether it might be a good fit for you. If you’re keen, you can buy an annual subscription for $39.99 / £19.99.
