The Proofing Room Issue #07

The Week We Cracked the Personalization Code

While most habit apps ask "how often do you want to do this?" and leave users to figure it out, we just built something different: a system that becomes your behavioral science coach, recommending optimal frequencies and graduating you through levels based on actual performance.

This isn't just features—it's a fundamental shift in how habit-building technology should work.

Here's what we discovered, what we built, and why it changes everything.

Since Issue #6: The Frequency Revolution

The Problem with "How Often?" When you ask someone "how often do you want to exercise," they almost always choose a frequency that sets them up for failure. They pick the aspirational version of themselves, not the realistic one.

Our Solution: Progressive Overload for Habits Instead of putting the cognitive load on users, we're taking a fitness-inspired approach: everyone starts on "easy."

We don't have millions of user data points yet to make sophisticated individual recommendations, so we're using the universal truth that everyone needs to start on step 1. Just like you wouldn't tell someone who doesn't run regularly to immediately go run a marathon.

Here's how progression works at a high level:

• Easy: Everyone starts here. Build the neural pathway without overwhelming your system

• Medium: Unlocked only after you establish consistent patterns on Easy

• Hard: Advanced frequency only available after proving Medium-level discipline

The Intelligence: Perform consistently over time, and you unlock the ability to do more. Perform inconsistently, and we automatically reduce your habit workload until you get it right.

The app becomes your progressive overload coach, just like in fitness training.

The Psychological Matching Revolution We've integrated this frequency system with our psychological framework from Issue #04. Now the app doesn't just know what components to use for your habits—it knows how often you should do them based on your specific emotional triggers and identity archetype.

The result? Recommendations that actually work because they're designed for who you are right now, not who you think you should be.

Alan's Technical Deep Dive: Building Components That Feel Human

While we've had the five core tracking components mapped out since Issue #4, this week Alan has been deep in the technical implementation challenge: making each component feel native to its interaction while maintaining visual consistency.

The Integration Challenge:

• Binary actions need instant gratification and clear completion states

• Durations need satisfying progress visualization during active timing

• Value logging needs thoughtful input interfaces that don't feel like homework

• Counters need tactile increment/decrement that feels responsive

• Time window tracking needs flexibility without complexity

The Technical Innovation: Each component shares the same visual DNA while feeling completely different to use. It's like having five different musical instruments that all belong to the same orchestra.

This Week's Progress: Alan is finishing the remaining task components with a focus on the micro-interactions that make or break the user experience. The difference between a counter that feels satisfying to tap and one that feels mechanical is measured in milliseconds and pixels.

The Design Renaissance: Why Skeuomorphism Is Making a Comeback

While everyone else chases flat design minimalism, we're betting on something different: interfaces that feel tangible and real.

The trend is already visible across major platforms—users are craving digital experiences that connect to physical intuition. Our interface elements look like objects you could reach out and touch. Buttons have depth. Progress indicators feel weighted.

The Psychology Behind Tactile Design: When something looks touchable, your brain processes it as more trustworthy and satisfying to interact with. We're building habit-tracking interfaces that feel like beautiful, functional tools rather than clinical software.

Beta Testing: Help Us Perfect the Psychology

The Beta Experience: Go through the flows we've built for testing that we’ve defined in the release notes, complete the quick survey that appears at the end, and share your thoughts. That's it!

How to Give Feedback: Fill out the survey, email us, text us, call us, send morse code - whatever works for you. We read every piece of feedback.

What Beta Testers Receive: We're still working through the details, but we’ll be in touch with early supporters soon on some special in-app and out-of-app goodies.

To Join: Reply to this email with one word that describes your biggest habit challenge.

A Quick Note on Newsletter Timing

For those who have been following along since Issue #01, you may have noticed that the newsletter has gone out at a few different times on Tuesdays and Fridays. Here's something we've found interesting: we have three specific spikes in percentage of unique opens: 11:00 AM, 2:00 PM, and 6:00 PM.

We have readers in multiple time zones, so it's been a multi-week experiment to determine what factors contribute to those spikes. After 4 weeks, it seems like 2:00 PM has consistently been the best performing time, so we'll be moving back to posting then, ±1 hour moving forward.

Building in public means optimizing everything transparently…even newsletter delivery times.

What's Coming This Week: Core Flows and Day 1 Marketing

Between Now and Friday:

• Finishing the core user flows for beta testing

• Building our day 1 marketing assets

• Completing Alan's remaining task components

• Testing the frequency recommendation system with real scenarios

Next Issue Preview: Friday's newsletter will feature exclusive insights from our most recent wave of beta testing feedback, plus behind-the-scenes look at our day 1 marketing strategy and user onboarding flow.

The Philosophy of Graduated Expectations

Building Virtue has taught me that the biggest enemy of habit formation isn't lack of motivation. It's unrealistic expectations.

Most apps assume you want to become your best self immediately. We're building something that understands you need to become a slightly better version of yourself first, then graduate to the next level when you're ready.

The difference between aspiration and transformation is giving yourself permission to start small and build systematically.

What would happen if technology stopped asking you to be perfect and started helping you be consistent?

Talk Friday,

— Colin, Alan, & The Torta Studios Team

Reply to this email and tell me: What's one habit you've tried to build multiple times but never stuck with? I'm collecting stories for our frequency recommendation research.