Getting Started with Keel
A complete guide to setting up your first habits and goals in Keel.
Welcome to Keel! This guide will walk you through everything you need to know to start tracking habits and building resilience.
Creating Your First Habit
When you open Keel, you'll see the Today view. Tap the + button to create your first habit.
Name and Emoji
Give your habit a clear, actionable name:
- "Go for a run" ✓
- "Running" ✗ (too vague)
- "Morning run" ✓
- "Exercise" ✗ (too broad)
Choose an emoji that represents your habit. This helps you quickly identify habits at a glance.
Schedule
You can set up your habit's schedule in several ways:
- Every day — The habit shows up every day
- Specific days — Choose which days of the week (e.g., Mon/Wed/Fri)
- Time of day — Morning, afternoon, or evening
- Specific times — Set exact reminder times
Start simple. You can always adjust your schedule later.
Setting Up Goals
Goals give your habits meaning. They answer the question: "Why am I doing this?"
Creating a Goal
- Go to the Goals tab
- Tap + New Goal
- Give it a name (e.g., "Feel more energetic")
- Add a vision statement (optional but helpful)
Linking Habits to Goals
A single goal can have multiple habits contributing to it:
| Goal | Habits |
|---|---|
| Feel more energetic | Morning run, 8hrs sleep, Drink water |
| Learn Spanish | Duolingo, Spanish podcast, Flashcards |
This helps you see which habits actually move the needle on what matters. For more on connecting habits to meaningful goals, see building habits that actually stick.
Understanding Your Metrics
Keel tracks several key metrics to help you build resilient habits:
Bounce-Back Rate
This is the most important metric. It measures how often you return to a habit within 24 hours of missing it. Learn more about why bounce-back rate matters more than streaks.
- 80%+ — Excellent! You've built a resilient habit.
- 60-80% — Good, with room to improve.
- Below 60% — Focus on making it easier to restart.
Completion Rate
What percentage of scheduled days did you complete? Unlike other apps, Keel doesn't expect 100%. Real life happens.
- 70%+ — You're doing great.
- 50-70% — Consider adjusting your schedule.
- Below 50% — Make the habit smaller or less frequent.
Tips for Success
Start with 1-2 habits
Don't create 10 habits on day one. Start with one or two and add more as they become automatic. When you're ready to add more, try stacking new habits onto existing ones to make them stick faster.
Make them achievable
"Run a marathon daily" will fail. "Walk for 10 minutes" will succeed. Start small and expand.
Check in daily
Open Keel once a day to log completions. The app works best when it becomes part of your daily routine.
Review weekly
Look at your metrics once a week. Are you improving? Staying steady? Declining? Use the data to adjust.
Ready to get started? Create your first habit and see how it feels. Remember: the goal isn't perfection. It's building something that lasts.