How your ghost works

Your ghost is you, a few days ago. Every number on Me vs Me comes from what you log, and nothing else. Here's exactly how each one is worked out.

The ghost is your recent average

Each day, your ghost posts the average of what you logged over the previous 7 days. You win the day if you beat it. Here are the first 10 days of a pushup challenge:

• The first 3 days set your baseline. You log as usual, but they don't count as wins or losses. They give your ghost something real to start from.
• Early on, the ghost uses the days you have. On day 4 there are only 3 days to average, so it uses those 3.
• The window slides. Each new day, the oldest day drops out and yesterday comes in.
• We show the ghost rounded to one decimal, but you're compared with the exact average. Against a ghost of 26.1, 27 wins and 26 loses.

If you improve steadily, you'll win most days: a 7-day average sits about where you were 4 days ago, so it trails a rising trend. By day 30 of this example, the ghost posts 57 against your 63. Want a tighter race? Choose Yesterday as your ghost.

Missed days don't count as zero

If you don't log a day, your ghost simply leaves it out. Counting it as zero would drag your average down and hand you an easy win the next day.

On day 6, the ghost averages days 1 to 4 and skips day 5. A missed day shows as Missed. It isn't a loss, but it does end your win streak. Replying SKIP works the same way.

Choosing a ghost

You pick your ghost when you set up a challenge. Here's what the same person faced on day 30 of the pushup challenge above, logging 63:

• My 7-day average

  57day 30 ghost

  The average of your last 7 logged days. The default: one off day won't sink you.

• Yesterday

  61day 30 ghost

  Your most recent logged day. Strict: every day has to top the last.

• Same day last week

  53day 30 ghost

  What you logged 7 days ago. Good for weekly rhythms, like gym days. If you missed that day, it uses your 7-day average.

• My personal best

  61day 30 ghost

  The best you've ever logged on this goal, across every round. Hard mode.

How each kind of goal is counted

Counts: pushups, steps, pages, glasses of water

Everything you log in a day is added up. Log 20 pushups in the morning and 15 at night, and the day counts as 35. Commas are fine: 1,250 steps.

Time: minutes meditated, practice time

Time is counted in minutes, and logs on the same day add up. Reply in whatever form is easiest:

Money: dollars saved

Amounts add up across the day. 20, $20 and 12.50 all work.

Lower is better: screen time

When less is the goal, you win by coming in under your ghost. For screen time we use the latest number you log each day, because phones report a running total: log 3h at 6pm and 3h 20m at bedtime, and the day counts as 3h 20m. (For other lower-is-better goals you set up yourself, logs add up like counts.)

Done or not: no takeout, no-spend days, staying sober

Reply DONE or NOPE, or use the buttons on your dashboard. After the baseline days, a done day is a win and a not-done day is a loss. Your ghost is the share of the last 7 days you did it (100% means every day), and your dashboard tracks how many days in a row you've done it.

Your record and streaks

• Record is wins and losses, like 27-0. Ties, which are rare, show as a third number: 20-8-2. Baseline and missed days aren't in it.
• A tie means you matched your ghost exactly.
• Win streak is how many days in a row you've won. A loss, a tie or a missed day ends it. Baseline days are skipped over.

Improvement

Your scorecard compares your average over the first 7 days of the challenge with your average over the latest 7. Missed days are left out of both. In the full pushup example, week one averaged 24.6 and the last week averaged 58.4: 137.8% better. For lower-is-better goals, going down counts as improving. Challenges shorter than 14 days compare the first half with the second half.

Which day a log counts for

• Days follow your own time zone, which you can change in Settings.
• If you answer the nightly text after midnight, before 4am, it counts for the day before, as long as you hadn't logged that day yet.
• By text, FIX 20 replaces today's total with 20, UNDO removes your last log, STATUS shows where you stand, and EXIT ends your challenge (we ask you to confirm with YES first).

Round 2 and beyond

When a challenge ends, you can go again on the same goal. A new round skips the baseline: your ghost starts from the last days of the round you just finished, so you're racing from day 1. Taking a break between rounds doesn't reset it; the ghost picks up from your last logged days. Under My personal best, your ghost is the best you've logged in any round on that goal, so hard mode stays hard. Want a clean slate instead? Pick a different goal.

Race your own ghost