From Personal Tool to SaaS: How I Built a Multilingual Telegram Habit Bot
Let me share my story. I created a small Telegram bot for habits. Initially, I made it for myself and those close to me to get my habits in order, or at least make a solid attempt at it) For example, I often skipped workouts, messed up my sleep schedule, struggled to control irritation, forgot to drink water, and had a bunch of other bad habits that currently waste time, energy, or money.
I have willpower and motivation, but in the daily hustle and bustle, I simply forget to perform certain actions at the right time. Or, conversely – I forget about things that require constant mindfulness and strict control.
The Telegram bot became my personal reminder assistant.
What can it do at the moment?
• You choose a few of your most problematic or important commitments for now.
• Throughout the day, at any time and with any frequency, the bot reminds you of all your promises.
• In the evening, it asks for a report: done, not done, or temporarily paused.
• It shows real progress in numbers and keeps a history of your commitments.
• If you miss a day, everything simply continues the next day.
• The bot currently supports 6 languages.
• It accepts payments. I plan to develop it further.
I've been experimenting on myself for a few months now with a few habits, and there are already some results – habits are gradually shifting to automatic mode. The initial tasks were: working out 4 times a week; daily exercises to strengthen the spine; sleeping at least 8 hours; drinking 3 liters of water a day; learning new professional skills every day; and avoiding food 2 hours before bedtime.
It's certainly not a lot, but it's a good start. In my case, it worked because I frequently received reminders throughout the day. It turned out that the secret isn't in motivation or willpower, but simply in not forgetting to do what needs to be done, and not doing what shouldn't be done. I think a timely reminder is stronger than any willpower and motivation.
Next, I plan to add another 5–6 healthy habits. This way, you can probably improve yourself quite quickly and deeply across different areas.
🔗 Launch the bot: https://telegram.me/I_promise_myself_bot
(click the Try free & Unlock button).
If you're talking about building new habits, the answer is yes, it helps. It works like a nagging friend—reminding, reminding, reminding. That’s how it gets wired into your brain: I need to do this because I planned it myself. And if you don't do it right away, after another reminder you'll definitely try once, then a second time, and that's how a new habit gradually forms. A few of my friends and I have been using the bot for 2 months now, and it really works for us. At the end of the day, you get a check-in message: done, not done, or paused. You log it, and a week later looking at the stats is so motivating—you just want to see green checkmarks everywhere "Done"!
The part I’d be most curious about is whether this works the same way beyond your own habits.
Have other people used it long enough yet to see whether the frequent reminders actually keep them following through, rather than eventually becoming something they tune out?