I’ve been quietly working on something I’ve wanted for a long time — a simple but meaningful iOS app called HabitDalo. It started as a small personal project, born out of my own struggle to stay consistent with daily habits. I’ve tried several habit trackers over the years, but none of them quite fit how I think or how I wanted to interact with my goals. So, I decided to build my own.
From Personal Need to Project Idea
I often found myself overcomplicating my own process. I wanted something lightweight, motivating, and visually clean — an app that helped me do more than it made me plan.
That’s where HabitDalo began. The name itself is a blend of “habit” and “do,” in Urdu, reflecting what I wanted to emphasize: taking action, not just tracking.
Learning Swift and iOS Development
When I started, I had no prior experience with Swift or iOS development. But I wanted to challenge myself — to actually ship something real to the App Store. Over the next few weeks, I learned Swift, SwiftUI, and Xcode through late nights, documentation dives, and countless test builds.
One of the most rewarding parts of the process was learning the entire lifecycle of an app — from concept and UI design to handling App Store Connect, certificates, and deployment. There’s something surreal about seeing your own icon show up on the App Store after weeks of work.
Leveraging AI as a Learning Partner
Throughout the process, I made it a point to use AI tools not as shortcuts, but as learning companions. I used:
- GitHub Copilot for quick code completions and syntax help.
- Claude Code and Cursor for debugging, architectural brainstorming, and understanding Swift’s quirks.
These tools became my virtual mentors, helping me move faster while deepening my understanding of the code I was writing. I didn’t want to rely on AI to build the app for me — I wanted to use it to learn how to build the app myself.
I also become better at using the AI tools themselves. It is an art to prompt and setup agents and this project helped me develop those skills.
What I Learned Beyond Code
Building HabitDalo wasn’t just about the code. I learned how to manage the entire App Store submission process, create developer accounts, set up screenshots, write app descriptions, and configure privacy policies and backend integrations.
It gave me a real appreciation for what goes into bringing an idea to life from start to finish — not just technically, but logistically and creatively.
What’s Next
Now that HabitDalo is live, I’m already thinking about the next steps — possibly adding analytics, gamification, or syncing across devices. But for now, I’m proud of where it’s at: a functional, minimal app that I use every day.
This project reminded me that learning by building is still the best teacher. What started as a personal tool turned into a full end-to-end product — one that helped me grow as a developer and problem solver.
If you want to check out HabitDalo, it’s available on the App Store. And if you’re curious about how I built it or what I learned along the way, feel free to reach out — I love talking about these kinds of projects.
