![\"Flappy](\"https://suntreeapps.com/uploads/flappy-bird.jpg\")
Remember Flappy Bird?
\nStart the game, tap the screen, and the bird immediately crashes into a pipe.
\nTap again, crash again, die again.
\nWithin two minutes you've failed loads of times and you're ready to delete the app and maybe (just maybe) throw your phone out the window!
\nThere's no tutorial, no warm-up, no learning curve.
\nJust a brutal difficulty from second one.
\n
That experience was compelling enough to be a huge hit - for a while.
\nAnd this is exactly what you're doing wrong every January.
\nThe new year hits and you're hyped. Everyone's talking about fresh starts, new beginnings, basking in that "New You" optimism.
\nSo you decide to hit the gym five times a week, completely overhaul your diet, finally get in shape.
\nYou're just playing Flappy Bird with your fitness goals.
\nYou've jumped straight to high difficulty with no tutorial, no skill building and no wins to build on.
\nAnd just like Flappy Bird, you'll crash hard, and probably get fed up and quit the game for good (usually by February).
\n![\"Super](\"https://suntreeapps.com/uploads/mario-world-1-1.png\")
Super Mario Bros. Level 1-1 is genius.
\nA single Goomba walks slowly toward you.
\nYou have time to see it coming, time to figure out the jump button, time to feel like a hero when you stomp it.
\nYou're learning, winning, and building confidence.
\nBy World 8, you're doing things that would have seemed impossible on Day 1, but you barely notice because the difficulty curve brought you there gradually and more importantly you had fun along the way.
\nSo approach your goals and new years resolutions just like a Nintendo games designer would.
\nMake the initial work absurdly easy - like a tutorial level to learn the controls and get easy wins.
\nYou want to be feeling good about playing the game as quickly as possible, so that you will keep playing.
\nAnd then slowly and consistently increase the difficulty, getting to a place where you are challenged but still enjoying the process.
\nThis is the approach I took when I wanted to build a consistent gym routine. My first workouts were so easy, they felt like they weren't worth doing.
\nBut I was building the habit of turning up and working out. I got comfortable with going to the gym, using the equipment, doing the exercises. I was racking up the wins and feeling good about training. Only then would I increase the difficulty and the challenge.
\nStart so easy it feels silly. Level 1 should be something so easy you can do it even on your worst day.
\nBuild in immediate rewards. Mario games give you coins and power-ups constantly as you play. Your routine needs its own rewards system. It might be a post routine coffee, the satisfaction of checking off the workout, and the good feeling of movement. Don't wait for the scale to budge or the abs to appear - you want to feel like you are winning during and after every session.
\nTrack something and progress gradually. You need to see that difficulty curve moving upward, even if each step feels small. Whether it's duration, intensity, or frequency - you should always feel like you're moving forward, not just treading water.
\nResist the January/New Goal/"New You" energy. This is the hardest part. When you're most motivated is exactly when you need to hold back. That enthusiasm will fade - it always does. Your job is to build the skill and habit before the motivation disappears.
\nYour challenge: Before you start any goal, design your Level 1. Make it so easy you'd feel silly telling someone about it. That's your tutorial level. Master that, get your wins, then gradually turn up the difficulty.
\nStop playing Flappy Bird with your life. Start playing Super Mario Bros.
\n![\"Super](\"https://suntreeapps.com/uploads/mario.png\")
The hardest part of the difficulty curve method? Actually tracking your progress and building that consistency.
\nThat's why I built Progress Every Day - a simple progress journal app designed to help you track your habits, moods, and daily wins.
\n![\"Progress](\"https://suntreeapps.com/uploads/cta/progress-every-day.png\")
Just write quick journal entries (as easy as sending a text), use emoji to track habits đ¨âđťđââď¸â , and see your progress build over time.
\nPerfect for tracking your Level 1 workouts and watching your difficulty curve climb.
\n\n![\"Download](\"https://suntreeapps.com/uploads/cta/appstore-b.svg\")
This is the first post in a series on tactics for building consistent habits. Next up: What to do when life interrupts your progress (aka: save points).
\n","date_published":"Thu, 01 Jan 2026 00:00:00 GMT"},{"id":"https://suntreeapps.com/blog/posts/intensity-destroys-consistency/","url":"https://suntreeapps.com/blog/posts/intensity-destroys-consistency/","title":"Intensity Destroys Consistency","content_html":"Maybe youâve heard the saying âConsistency beats Intensityâ.
\nThe truth that being consistent over a long period of time delivers better results than periods of high intensity followed by doing nothing.
\n![\"A](\"https://suntreeapps.com/uploads/sleeping-cat.jpg\")
But I would take this idea further, a far stronger reframe of it:
\nIntensity devours consistency.\nIt mauls it.\nCuts it down.\nAnd then stomps on it.
\nIntensity doesnât just kill consistency - it destroys it.
\nSome years ago I was very into HIIT workouts. I used to do group classes with a great group of people and trainers. Really they were the people who got me into fitness and being more healthy in general.
\nMore recently I have been primarily focussed on weight training, with little cardio and no HIIT workouts at all. As part of my winter arc at the end of last week I ramped up the intensity on the cardio.
\nI loved it. It was hard, and I love the dopamine rush that comes from finishing a tough, intense workout especially if I have done it in the dark and the cold.
\nBut days later I'm still sore. And my motivation to do my daily steps is down, my motivation to do a weights workout is down, and the temptation to go off plan on my diet is very high.
\nSo I think, whilst I love HIIT workouts, I am going to ease the intensity on my cardio all the way down. It's impacting my ability to actually hit my goal (fat loss) even though it feels great. I'm telling myself when I get down to my target body fat percentage I'll get back to working in some HIIT workouts - because I enjoy them.
\nI'm sharing this not to tell you to do what I'm doing - just to shed some light on my experience, and to remind you that its worth reflecting on the impact of some of the approaches you are taking. What feels good in the short term might be affecting your long term goals.
\nSo reflect and work out on whats working for you.
\nAnd remember: intensity is great - but it takes its toll.
\n","date_published":"Tue, 16 Dec 2025 00:00:00 GMT"},{"id":"https://suntreeapps.com/blog/posts/choose-your-winter-arc-bear-or-wolf/","url":"https://suntreeapps.com/blog/posts/choose-your-winter-arc-bear-or-wolf/","title":"Choose Your Winter Arc: Hibernating Bear versus Hungry Wolf","content_html":"![\"Hibernating](\"https://suntreeapps.com/uploads/winter-arc/wolf-and-bear.jpg\")
Iâm writing this sat in a coffee shop in London. Outside itâs dark (at 4pm) and itâs cold. Christmas music is on the speaker, and a video display is showing me images of delicious festive foods: sugary, chocolatey treats, drinks topped with whipped cream. Itâs all very tempting.
\nI am not a fan of winter - the early darkness and the cold affects my mood and makes me feel lazy. Itâs easy to reach to food for comfort, and the motivation to work out and for activity in general is low. All the adverts, the shop displays and festive music donât help. So many signals and cues to tell us itâs time to indulge, to take it easy, and to stay inside.
\nAnd maybe thatâs exactly what you need to do. A season of recuperation and recovery. Of slowing down, or indulgence. And if so, I encourage you to enjoy it and make the most of it. Take the way of the hibernating bear.
\nBut maybe, like me, you donât want to slow down.
\nYou want to end the year with hard push, all set for the next year. What can you do to keep the motivation going, when the environment is working against you?
\nHow can you walk the way of the hungry wolf? How you tackle a winter arc?
\nIâll be sharing what Iâm trying, whats working and not working for me in a series of blog posts.
\nIf you want to end the year strong, to resist the urge to hibernate and indulge, then stay tuned and buckle up!
\nWeâre going to have our best winter arc to dateâŚ
\n","date_published":"Mon, 15 Dec 2025 00:00:00 GMT"},{"id":"https://suntreeapps.com/blog/posts/choose-renewal-transform-milestones-fresh-starts/","url":"https://suntreeapps.com/blog/posts/choose-renewal-transform-milestones-fresh-starts/","title":"Choose Renewal","content_html":"How to Transform Life's Milestones Into Fresh Starts
\nThe birthday arrives. The project ends. The relationship shifts.
\nAnd suddenly you're standing at the edge of regret or complacency.
\nYou're weighing up every choice you've made, every path taken or avoided.
\nThis is the dangerous moment.
\nIt's easy to treat these checkpoints as verdicts. The final word on what worked and what didn't. Opportunities forever gone.
\nBut that's just a story you're telling yourself.
\nAnd stories can trap you: in what's already worked or what hasn't worked yet.
\nYou define limiting versions of yourself all because you reached a checkpoint. That could be resigning yourself to missed opportunities and giving up, or getting comfortable with what's worked so far.
\nThis is the enemy of growth, the death of potential.
\n![\"The](\"https://suntreeapps.com/uploads/louvre.jpg\")
Or you can use the milestone as a place to reflect and renew.
\nTake the best of what you've learned and leave the rest behind.
\nThe wisdom stays. The love stays. The skills that serve you stay.
\nThe stuff that's slowing you down, the beliefs that limit you, the habits that drain your energy? They've served their purpose - taught you the lesson - and must be discarded.
\nThis isn't about starting over. It's about building upon and honoring your path, your unique experiences.
\nBecause here's the thing about these moments of reckoning: they're going to keep coming.
\nEvery anniversary, every milestone, every pause where you take stock.
\nEach time, you get to choose the direction of your spiral.
\nDown toward diminishing returns and closed possibilities.
\nOr up toward what you're becoming.
\nThe checkpoint doesn't decide.
\nYou do.
\n![\"Tree](\"https://suntreeapps.com/uploads/tree-rings.jpg\")
What if the thing you're craving isn't actually what you need?
\nLast night at a Hacker News meetup, I shared something I'd been experimenting with. When I want garlic bread (or pizza), I make this instead:
\nThree ingredients. 5 mins cooking time. A delicious, filling snack that hits the spot.
\nHere's what I've learned: our cravings are often about flavor memories, not the delivery system.
\nYou don't actually want 300 calories of refined flour. You want that hit of garlic and herbs. You want something warm and savory that feels indulgent.
\n![\"popcorn\"](\"https://suntreeapps.com/uploads/popcorn.jpg\")
The popcorn delivers. The whole bowl has fewer calories than two slices of garlic bread, but somehow hits the same satisfaction buttons. It's the oregano that seals the deal - suddenly you're not eating "diet food," you're eating something that tastes great and is associated with fun.
\nYou can adjust the recipe for taste and your nutrition goals. If you are cutting back on calories, be careful about how much butter (or other fats) you use.
\n![\"butter\"](\"https://suntreeapps.com/uploads/butter.jpg\")
Try this tonight and let me know what you think. The real test isn't whether it's healthy (it is). It's whether it scratches the itch.
\n![\"garlic\"](\"https://suntreeapps.com/uploads/garlic.jpg\")
You might have noticed the blog looks completely different now. That's because I've finally replaced the cobbled together blogging "solution" I had been using with a proper blogging platform.
\nIt's taken a bit of work (about a day) to get everything working. But now it's a lot easier for me to write and publish a blog post on this site.
\nI have had a load of blog posts and blog post ideas in the pipeline. But the old solution required too much work to quickly write and hit publish.
\nThe new system removes that friction.
\nSo expect a lot more content here, more regularly.
\nAnd whilst, I think that's great, the broader questions this leads to are: what are the points of friction in your workflow, your thought processes and in your life?
\nAnd what would change if you removed or reduced the friction?
\n","date_published":"Fri, 18 Jul 2025 00:00:00 GMT"},{"id":"https://suntreeapps.com/blog/posts/why-your-habits-fail-sponsoring-intent/","url":"https://suntreeapps.com/blog/posts/why-your-habits-fail-sponsoring-intent/","title":"Why Your Habits Fail: The Psychology of Sponsoring Intent","content_html":"Two people reach for the same bag of sweets.
\nOne person's mind whispers: "A little treat, I've earned this."
\nThe other's mind says: âMake the feelings go away."
\nSame action. Same sweets. Completely different worlds.
\nThe real reason behind our actions and choices is the sponsoring intent. The why behind the why. Not the reason we tell ourselves, but the deeper current that actually is moving us.
\nMost of us are strangers to our own sponsoring intent. For the longest time I was, and Iâm sure for some things I still am.
\nWe say we're going to bed to sleep, but we take a smartphone or tablet to the bedroom. We claim we're exercising for health, but we're really punishing ourselves for yesterday's choices. We insist we're checking social media to stay connected, but we're actually avoiding the silence of our own thoughts.
\nThe gap between what we really want and what we get? That's often the gap between our stated intent and the real, often hidden sponsoring intent.
\nHere's what's interesting: sometimes the action doesn't need to change. But the intent does.
\nLast week, exhausted from poor sleep, I caught myself reaching for my iPad on the way to bed. Same routine, same excuse about "just watching something until I drift off." But this time, I paused.
\nWhat do I actually want right now?
\nSleep. Real sleep.
\nI left the iPad downstairs. I slept through the night for the first time in weeks.
\nSame bed. Same tired body. Different intent.
\nYour sponsoring intent is like water finding its level. It shapes everything it touches. It determines not just whether you'll follow through, but how you'll follow through. The quality of your attention. The persistence of your effort. The satisfaction you'll feel afterward.
\nOr the emptiness.
\nWhen your sponsoring intent aligns with your stated goal, things feel... easier. The action might not be easier. It might still be a slog, but whatâs gone is the internal fight. The draining conflict within you. The battle of motivation and the sense of spinning your wheels whilst getting nowhere.
\nThe tricky part? Your sponsoring intent doesn't announce itself. It operates in the shadows, wearing the mask of reasonable explanations.
\nBut it leaves clues.
\nThe gap between intention and outcome. The pattern of starting but not finishing. The sense that you're working against yourself even when you're doing the "right" things.
\nWhat if the solution isn't trying harder?
\nWhat if it's getting curious - and painfully honest - about what's really driving you?
\nWhat if the thing you're struggling with isn't about the action at all, but about the intent sponsoring it?
\nThe next time you find yourself stuck, ask:
\nNot what you think you should want, or someone elseâs why. Not what sounds good when you say it out loud.
\nWhat are you actually trying to accomplish? Why do you want it?
\nDeep down you know what your sponsoring intent is - you just need to make the space to hear it.
\n","date_published":"Fri, 11 Jul 2025 00:00:00 GMT"},{"id":"https://suntreeapps.com/blog/posts/be-careful-with-fats/","url":"https://suntreeapps.com/blog/posts/be-careful-with-fats/","title":"Be Careful with Fats","content_html":"My flatmate was doing everything right. Or so he thought.
\nHe had hired a nutrition coach, was going to the gym regularly, and was 100% committed to losing fat. But the scale refused to budge. He and his coach were stumped. He swore he was sticking to the plan.
\nThen one day, I was in the kitchen while he made lunch. Out of curiosity, I started logging everything he added into the pan using MyFitnessPal. Chicken breast? Check. Veggies? Check. Rice? All good.
\nThen came the oil.
\nIt didnât look like much â maybe a tablespoon â but the second I saw the casual way he added it to the pan, I knew what was going on. That little bit of oil packed 120 calories. And it wasnât in his plan. He hadnât been tracking it. Multiply that over multiple meals a day, every day, and there was his calorie deficitâgone.
\nWhen I showed him, his face just dropped. âJust that little bit makes such a difference?!â
\nYeah - it really does, and it's so easy to overlook.
\nFats are calorie-dense â about 9 calories per gram. Oils, nut butters, dressings, and even healthy fats can quietly wreck your calorie deficit if youâre not measuring them.
\nFats definitely arenât bad - you need them for good hormonal health, and you shouldn't eliminate them from your diet. But youâve got to be aware of much you are consuming.
\nIf youâre trying to lose fat and feel like youâre doing everything right, but still not seeing results â check how much fat you are consuming. These could be in your cooking, or in sauces and dips.
\nA small adjustment â like measuring your oil, using non-stick spray, or just being more intentional â can make a big difference.
\nAnd if youâre struggling despite your best efforts, itâs not because youâre lazy. Sometimes itâs just a tiny thing youâre missing.
\nAnd that can be fixed.
\n","date_published":"Wed, 19 Mar 2025 00:00:00 GMT"},{"id":"https://suntreeapps.com/blog/posts/hidden-saboteur-marketing/","url":"https://suntreeapps.com/blog/posts/hidden-saboteur-marketing/","title":"The Hidden Saboteur: How One Column Exposed My Marketing Self-Deception","content_html":"I kept lying to myself.
\nâIâm focusing on marketing," I'd say, while loading up my to-do list with comfortable writing, learning and planning tasks.
\nI build tools for personal growth, so you'd think I'd be better at spotting my own patterns.
\nI wasn't.
\nUntil I added a simple column to my planning spreadsheet: "Outbound?"
\nThis one addition dragged out my self-deception into the light. Twelve inbound tasks. Two (half-hearted at best) outbound ones. Every. Single. Week.
\nAnd whilst it was technically true that a lot of my tasks were related to marketing, at some point youâve got to do the uncomfortable (for me) thing and start showing people the work.
\nI guess we all have blind spots â areas where our actions dont line up with what we want to achieve. This was a big one for me.
\nSometimes the breakthrough is about making the invisible visible. Seeing where we are lying to ourselves, where we are hiding.
\nFor me, this time, it was done by adding a column to a spreadsheet. For you, it might be a mark on your calendar each time you put off that important conversation. Or tracking how many days pass between your "I should really..." thoughts and your actual actions.
\nThe exact method doesn't matter and there probably isnât a single solution for every situation.
\nWhat matters is bringing your patterns into the light where you can see them clearly.
\nAre you finding yourself struggling to make traction on a goal? Think about what you are not seeing about yourself, your actions, and inactions.
\nWhat simple things could you do that might bring them out into the cold, hard light of day?
\n","date_published":"Thu, 13 Mar 2025 00:00:00 GMT"},{"id":"https://suntreeapps.com/blog/posts/begin/","url":"https://suntreeapps.com/blog/posts/begin/","title":"Begin","content_html":"Just start.
\nIt doesn't have to be perfect.
\nYou just keep improving as you go along.
\n","date_published":"Tue, 04 Feb 2025 00:00:00 GMT"}]}