How Ethos works
A plain-language map of what the app is for, how the pieces fit, and why the nuance exists.
In one sentence
Ethos helps you name what matters, practise it in small ways through the week, and notice—without shame—whether your life is lining up with who you want to become.
Everything else is scaffolding for that sentence.
The idea in plain terms
Most apps track tasks. Ethos tracks character in progress.
Your data stays on your device (file or browser storage). There is no feed, no scoreboard against other people, and no server that holds your ethos.
| What | Plain meaning |
|---|---|
| Principles | Sentences you believe about how to live (“Honesty over comfort”, “Protect my attention”). They can evolve over time. |
| Habits | Small, repeatable actions linked to those principles (“Morning walk”, “One honest conversation”). |
| Journal | Stories from real life—mistakes, decisions, moods—often tied to principles. |
| Reflections | A short weekly look back: how did the week feel, which principles showed up, anything to adjust? |
Three layers — why, what, how often
Think of Ethos as three nested circles:
- Why — Principles (and journal) hold meaning.
- What — Habits (and optional tasks) are the practice.
- Notice — Reflection and the forest help you see patterns, not punish you.
The weekly rhythm
Ethos is built around a Monday–Sunday week. You do not have to use every feature every day; this is the full rhythm when you want the whole system:
- Sunday / Monday — Choose which habits are “in play” this week (the roster). Optionally favour a life area and pick principles to greet you each morning.
- Each day — Honour what you planned. The app measures you against what you chose, not every habit you ever created.
- Evening (optional) — A short walk-through of tomorrow: each habit with the principle wording it serves.
- End of week — Reflect. Pause or archive what no longer fits. Carry forward what worked.
Habit bank vs weekly roster
This is the piece that feels fiddly until you see the point:
Without a roster, ten years of good intentions become ten habits × seven days = seventy silent expectations. That is how apps become overwhelming.
With a roster, you say: “This week I am willing to carry these seven.” The forest and weekly percentage answer that question—not “did you fail your entire past?”
Light week — A toggle when life is heavy: the forest stays gentler even if the week is thin.
| Concept | Analogy | Role |
|---|---|---|
| Habit bank | Your full library | Every habit you might return to someday. |
| Weekly roster | This week’s promises | Only these count for honour rate, forest health, and default planning. |
| Weekly planner | The calendar | When rostered habits (and tasks) land on specific days. |
| Pause | Put on the shelf | Keep the habit, but it sits out until you resume. |
| Archive | Remove from active life | Gone from daily use; history preserved. |
Principles, trees, and morning reminders
Principles can stand alone or group under trees (pillars): “How I treat people”, “Looking after my body”, and so on.
Once a week you may pick a few principles to surface each morning—one per day, rotating. That is separate from habits: it is the why whispered at the start of the day, not a task to complete.
Balance areas (optional)
If you define life areas (e.g. work, family, self), Ethos can suggest which area has been neglected and filter the planner toward habits tagged with that area. Tasks always stay on their day; this only shapes habit suggestions.
It is descriptive, not a guilt machine—you choose whether to act on it.
The forest — mirror, not judge
The forest visualization is your ethos as a clearing of trees: each tree ≈ a principle family; branches ≈ principles; leaves ≈ linked habits. Honouring habits and reviewing principles keep the forest vivid; long quiet periods gently fade leaves or branches.
- Vitality follows your weekly roster, not every habit in the bank.
- Missed days on a daily habit do not instantly “kill” a tree—there is graduated forgiveness.
- Nudges offer honour, pause, or archive—not shame.
- The forest runs on a day/night cycle independent of app theme; it is ambience, not alarm.
How “success” is measured (gently)
If you do not use the planner, the app falls back to simpler per-habit rhythms—but the richest, fairest picture comes from planning a realistic week and rostering honestly.
| Signal | What it means |
|---|---|
| Honour rate (this week) | Of the habit slots you planned for days that have already passed, how many did you honour? Today’s open slots do not count against you. |
| Extras | Honours beyond the plan show as bonus, not obligation. |
| Reflection | Did you pause to look back? The pond and “My Ethos” title in the forest care about this slowly, not daily. |
| Journal | Recent writing keeps the water clear—a metaphor for staying in dialogue with yourself. |
Onboarding — values first
New users pick concrete values from a curated list (not abstract “belief systems”). The app later shows where those choices echo traditions they may recognise, without asking them to claim a label.
Starter habits are few; trees may be suggested when you have enough principles to group. The message throughout: start small enough to keep.
Daily wisdom & tomorrow preview
Both are invitations. Dismiss them and they stay dismissed for that day or week.
| Feature | Purpose |
|---|---|
| Morning quote | A public-domain line matched loosely to your principles or the day’s mood—optional, blockable by author. |
| Evening tomorrow preview | Step through tomorrow’s planned habits and tasks; for each habit, show which principle it serves and its current wording. |
What you can safely ignore
You do not need all of this at once:
Ethos is modular so depth is available, never required.
- No planner → roster + honour still work; planning just adds precision.
- No balance areas → planner shows all habits.
- No forest → principles and habits work as lists.
- No AI → everything is manual; AI only suggests links or wording if you opt in with your own key.
- Fewer than six habits → roster step is skipped; all active habits count.
The design promise
- Local-first — Your ethos is yours; encryption optional.
- Promises should be choosable — Bank vs roster vs plan prevents silent overload.
- Missed ≠ failed — Today is not due until it ends; quiet weeks fade slowly.
- Meaning before mechanics — Habits link to principles; tomorrow preview says why.
- One week at a time — Sunday choices, daily practice, weekly reflection—a loop you can explain to a friend in a minute.
One paragraph you could tell a friend
Ethos is a private notebook for who I’m trying to become. I write principles, link small habits to them, and each Sunday I pick which habits I’m actually willing to practise that week. I plan them on a calendar if I want. During the week I tick habits off; the app only judges what I chose—not my whole history. There’s a forest that gets a bit quieter if I neglect things, but it’s gentle. On Sunday I reflect, pause what’s too much, and start again. Nothing goes to a server unless I explicitly share an encrypted journal entry.