If a plain checkbox doesn’t keep you going, try a habit tracker that rewards you the second you check something off. I built Dopamine Dealer for my own ADHD brain. Every habit you check fills a dopamine bar, the Dealer character reacts, and each check celebrates a little harder than the one before. You earn badges that never reset. The free plan covers 5 habits, and Pro adds Goal Rx, which turns a goal into a habit plan.
Quick note first: Dopamine Dealer is my app. I built it and I run it. The main app is free, and Pro is a paid plan I’ll cover below. There are no affiliate links in this post.
- What it does: Tracks daily habits and rewards every check-off right away with a filling bar, a reacting character, streaks and badges.
- Best for: Anyone who’s quit a habit tracker because checking boxes got boring.
- Not for: Anyone who wants the app to chase them. It doesn’t send check-in reminders. You open it when you’re ready.
Why checking a box stopped working for me
Simply checking a box doesn’t do it for me anymore. I needed something to happen when I checked a habit off. I need glitter and explosions.
The funny part is, even though I’m ADHD, I’m also obsessed with routine. Once I commit to something like this, it’s kind of a lock. The happy celebrations are what give me the little hit of dopamine to keep going, so I built an app around them. The longer version of why games work on my brain is in why I can’t stick to a new habit until I turn it into a game.
How Dopamine Dealer rewards each habit
A habit is one line, like “drink water” or “meds.” You tap it to check it off. The dopamine bar shows what percentage of today’s habits you’ve done, and the Dealer on the left reacts as it climbs. At 0% he’s pitching you. At 50% he’s invested. At 100% he loses it entirely.
I made it get more celebratory as you go. Each check lands harder than the last, and finishing the whole day lands hardest. The app also counts three things: your streak (days in a row with at least one habit checked), your best streak, and full doses (days you checked off everything). At 7, 14, 30 and 100 days it stops and makes a scene about it.
If you forget to check things off one night, the arrows next to the date take you back up to 7 days to fix it.
Merit badges you keep even when a streak breaks
There are things to earn along the way, too. Dopamine Dealer has 24 merit badges, styled like scout patches on a sash. Some are about when you check things off, like Nocturnal Operations for checking a habit off after 11pm five times. The Comeback is for coming back after missing three days or more. Others watch a specific habit, like water or dishes.
Badges never reset. A streak can go to zero, but every badge you’ve earned stays on the sash. Your rank comes from badges too, from Tenderfoot at 1 badge up to Dealer Emeritus at all 24, and it never goes down.
How does Goal Rx turn a goal into habits?
Goal Rx is my favorite part. You type the goal you’re chasing in your own words, and it suggests a short list of habits to help you get there, each with a one-line reason. You select the ones you want and add them to your list.
I’ve run it on two goals. “Build muscle and strength” gave me things like 10 pushups, a palm-sized protein with lunch and 7 hours of sleep. “Nervous system regulation” gave me a five minute slow breath practice, a ten minute walk without my phone and a cold water face splash, among others.
I kept all of them for now. Once I see what I stick with, I’ll adjust from there. The suggestions are a starting list, not advice from a trainer or a doctor, so swap out anything that doesn’t fit you.
Habit packs for a ready-made list
Habit packs are the other shortcut. Each pack is a bundle of habits you install in one tap and edit from there. I installed the Entrepreneur pack, and Deep work block is one of the habits it put on my list. Installing packs is a Pro feature. Free accounts can open any pack and see what’s inside first.
What’s free and what’s in Pro
| Feature | Free | Pro |
|---|---|---|
| Habits | 5 | Unlimited |
| Streaks, full doses and the week strip | Yes | Yes |
| Merit badges | Yes | Yes |
| Streak history | Last 7 days | 12 weeks |
| Goal Rx | No | Yes |
| Habit packs | Preview only | Install any pack |
| The ledger (each habit’s 30-day rate) | No | Yes |
| 7-day contract | No | Yes |
| Streak shield (one missed day a month) | No | Yes |
| Celebration themes | Classic | Adds Neon, Gold rush and Midnight |
Pro is $7 a month, and one Pro plan covers all five apps in my App Hub, including Emergency Fund Aquarium and Subscription Graveyard. Hitting 5 habits on free doesn’t lock you out. You can swap habits in and out whenever you want.
What Dopamine Dealer doesn’t do
It doesn’t send reminders to check in. You open it, tap what you did, let the Dealer make a fuss and close it. A normal day takes under a minute. That speed matters. My gamified cleaning app didn’t stick because logging a chore turned into a second chore.
If there’s something you wish it did, tell me. The feedback button in the corner of the app comes straight to me, and I’ll consider adding it.
Dopamine Dealer FAQ
Is Dopamine Dealer free?
Yes. The free plan covers 5 habits with streaks, full doses, the week strip and merit badges. Pro removes the cap and adds Goal Rx, habit packs and the rest.
Does my streak reset if I miss a day?
Yes, the current streak resets if you miss a whole day. Your best streak and every badge stay. You can go back up to 7 days to check off anything you forgot, and Pro’s streak shield covers one missed day a month.
What is Goal Rx?
Goal Rx is a Pro feature. It writes you a habit plan from a goal. Type the goal you’re chasing and keep the habits you want from its list.
Does Pro only cover Dopamine Dealer?
No. One Pro plan covers Dopamine Dealer plus the other four apps in my App Hub.
If checking a plain box stopped working for you too, Dopamine Dealer gives you something back for every habit, and the free plan covers 5 of them. Add three or four habits, check off whatever you’ve already done today, and open Dopamine Dealer.
Other apps I built
- How I track subscriptions I keep meaning to cancel
- The gamified savings app I built to keep an emergency fund
- How I tailor my resume to every job without rewriting it
A tool I built
Energy Battery
Log your energy through the day and watch your battery fill, so you can see what actually charges you and what drains you.
Find your spark →I run an affiliate program on the tools I build. Approved affiliates earn 20% on what their referrals pay, for up to a year. US only for now. See the program →
