The concept of a device in the shape of a paper clip helps develop habits by tracking activity – Yanko Design

Nowadays we have all these fancy, high-tech trackers monitoring our health and our activity, from simple fitness trackers to complex smartwatches. While these actions may be important in their own right, they are often done within a context, such as developing good habits. Unfortunately, these devices and their associated apps often simply record physical activity and conditions and then file them under the healthy lifestyle category. Tracking devices don’t take into account activities like reading a book, drinking water regularly, and things that a smartwatch can’t actually monitor. This is exactly what the tracker’s design concept tries to address, drawing inspiration from one of the most common things we attach to other objects: the classic paper clip.

Designer: Andrea Mangone

Although it has the word “paper” in its name, we often see the paper clip attached to other objects, even those thick enough to bend the metal clip. The tool is used not only to connect two things, but most often also as a reminder to do something later. Similarly, an activity tracker in the form of a large paper clip serves as a reminder to perform an action related to the object to which it is attached, and actually tracks whether it was done automatically or not.

Named after the popular daily journaling app, the DAY ONE tracker combines the functionality of fitness trackers with the behavior-shaping features of habit tracking apps in a simple yet pleasant design. In short, you place such a clip-on tracker on a primary accessory connected to your smartphone, assign the tracker to the specific habit you want to develop, and then connect it to a physical object associated with the habit, such as running shoes, a book or a bottle of water. Each time you pick up and use one of these items, its activity will be detected and recorded in the app, which is like checking a box indicating that you performed a particular habit that day.

The trick for ONE DAY is to pin it to the items you use for this habit. This is where the paper clip design comes in handy, allowing you to attach the tracker to almost anything, regardless of thickness. If it’s thin like paper or a book page, you can just slide it in like a regular paper clip. For something thicker, like a tablet or yoga mat, its long side attaches to the edge of the object. You can also just attach it to a carabiner or loop, although that also seems to run the risk of accidentally moving around and falling.

DAY ONE is an interesting idea to give activity trackers more relevant contexts, making them relevant beyond exercise and physical activity. It still requires a certain amount of willpower on the part of the individual to actually implement them, but the clips at least serve as a very visible reminder of what needs to be learned to develop the habit. That said, the paper clip design is a bit too cumbersome for something that may need to be squeezed into tight spaces and may move around and get lost somewhere along the way.