Field Notes

Honest reflections on building better habits. Raw lessons, small wins, and the truth about what it takes to feel happier and healthier — from people actually doing it.

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October 6, 2025

Why communication style matters

The core intent of Bearmore is to help people spend time engaging in evidence-based activities that can truly make a difference. So we purpose built guides for all activities. This Field Note explains what makes a guide work in practice, accurate instructions, clarity for beginners and experienced people alike, and a duration that actually helps. It also looks at an extra layer that matters more than people expect, communication style, and why the way a guide speaks can affect whether you stick with it.

September 30, 2025

From scattered efforts to a strategic wellness recipe

When our wellness efforts are scattered, progress can stall and it becomes hard to tell what’s actually working. This article offers a simple alternative, treat your wellbeing like a recipe, with a clear plan, a sensible order, and regular check-ins. You’ll learn how small “if-then” plans can make follow-through easier, why the right combinations of activities can reinforce each other, and how reflection helps you adjust as you go. It’s a practical way to stop collecting habits, and start building a routine that adds up.

September 25, 2025

The long game of habit building: why quick fixes don’t last

We’ve all had habits that start strong, then quietly drop off, not because we lack motivation, but because lasting change takes longer than most people expect. Here we explain what neuroscience shows about how habits actually form, through repetition, cues, and reward, as control shifts from effortful choice to something more automatic. It covers why consistency beats intensity, why the “21 days” idea doesn’t hold up, and how linking a new habit to an existing routine makes it easier to repeat.

August 18, 2025

Why motivation can stall when identity pushes back

When you start Bearmore, we ask what matters to you, then recommend activities most likely to help. Sometimes one of those suggestions sparks an immediate “not for me”, even if you do want change. This Field Note explains why that reaction is often about identity, not motivation, and how self-image can override logic in the moment. You’ll get practical ways to work with the resistance, starting small, choosing an easier version, and letting a few new experiences gently widen what feels like “you”.

July 27, 2025

Building an evidence rating system

The wellness industry is full of “backed by science” claims, but most people never show how those calls are made. Here we lay out Bearmore’s evidence rating system, the method we use to score research quality and turn it into clear activity ratings. It explains what we look for in studies, how we weigh different types of evidence, and why results matter as much as rigour. If you’ve ever wondered what “evidence-based” actually means here, this is the behind-the-scenes version.

July 18, 2025

Understanding pre and post reflection scales

Every time you start an activity in Bearmore, you’ll answer a quick check-in before you begin, then again at the end. These pre and post reflections are simple on purpose, they help you notice where you’re starting from, and how you feel when you finish. This article explains why we use five short scales (energy, calm, mood, focus, enjoyment), where the format came from, and why the wording is designed to feel human, not clinical. Over time, those check-ins power the personal insights you see in the app.

June 24, 2025

Making sense of practice levels

Two of the most common questions in wellbeing are, “How often should I do this?” and “How long should a session be?” This article explains how Bearmore built Practice Levels to answer those questions in a way that’s usable, and honest about what the research can and can’t tell us. It covers how we extract duration and frequency evidence across dozens of activities, how we label what’s direct versus inferred, and why the final system needed flexibility rather than fixed rules.

May 5, 2025

Understanding gains: Your guide to progress on Bearmore

Gains are Bearmore’s way of showing progress in a way that connects to what you care about. Each time you log an activity, you earn gains based on what you did, how long you did it for, and how consistently you’ve been showing up, mapped back to your what matters statement. Here’s the thinking behind the system, why it rewards effort over perfection, and why “more” can taper off when you push past useful ranges. The aim is clearer feedback that helps you build momentum and stay aligned.

April 29, 2025

Inside Bearmore's approach to measuring activity evidence strength

Bearmore puts a lot of weight on evidence, but we also want you to be able to see how we make those calls. Here’s an inside look at how we evaluate activities for inclusion, and how we score the strength of the research behind them. It walks through the process, defining the activity, finding the best studies, validating what we use, and translating it into an evidence factor that reflects impact across wellbeing. It also covers the limits of any rating system, and how we keep improving it.

April 23, 2025

What matters: Your life. Your priorities. Not a preset plan.

Most wellbeing apps start with a preset list of goals, then ask you to squeeze your life into it. Bearmore flips that, you define what you want to work on, in your own words, and the app adapts around you. This article explains how your what matters statement is translated into evidence-backed focus areas, then used to personalise recommendations. The aim is simple, less guesswork, and a plan that makes sense for your priorities and the way you actually live.

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