Getting Started with Trendwell

Welcome to Trendwell. You're about to start tracking health differently—focusing on what you control rather than obsessing over outcomes you can't change.

This guide will get you from signup to your first week of useful data.

The Trendwell Philosophy in 30 Seconds

Most health apps track outcomes: sleep scores, weight, blood pressure readings. These tell you what happened but don't tell you what to do.

Trendwell tracks inputs: the daily decisions you control. Then it shows you how those inputs affect your outcomes.

You pick a goal. We suggest inputs to track. You log them. Over time, you discover what actually moves the needle for you.

Key Insight: You can't control your sleep score, but you can control when you go to bed. Trendwell focuses on what you can change.

Step 1: Choose Your First Outcome

When you sign up, we'll ask: What do you want to improve?

Pick one:

• Sleep quality — Wake up feeling more rested
• Energy levels — Have more consistent energy throughout the day
• Weight management — Understand what affects your weight
• Blood pressure — Track what inputs influence your readings

Don't overthink it. You can add more outcomes later. For now, pick the one that matters most right now.

Tip: If you're unsure, start with sleep. Everyone sleeps, and sleep affects everything else.

Step 2: Select Your Inputs

Based on your chosen outcome, we'll suggest inputs to track. For example:

If you chose Sleep Quality:

• Sleep opportunity (what time you get in bed)
• Caffeine cutoff (when you had your last coffee/tea)
• Last meal time (when you finished eating)

If you chose Energy:

• Sleep opportunity
• Hydration (water intake)
• Meal timing

If you chose Weight:

• What you ate
• Last meal time
• Activity level

If you chose Blood Pressure:

• Sodium intake
• Exercise
• Sleep opportunity

You'll see 3-5 suggested inputs. You can:

• Accept the defaults — Good starting point for most people
• Remove inputs — If something doesn't apply to you
• Add custom inputs — If you suspect something specific affects you

Tip: Start with 2-3 inputs maximum. You can always add more later. Consistency beats comprehensiveness.

Step 3: Set Your Defaults

Trendwell uses exception-based tracking: you set defaults for "normal" days, and only log when something is different.

For each input, you'll set:

• Default value: What's typical for you?
• Whether today differs: Only log if today was different

Example: Sleep Opportunity

• Default: 10:30pm (your typical bedtime)
• On a normal day: No logging needed, we assume the default
• On a late night: Log the exception (11:45pm)

This dramatically reduces logging friction. Most days, you might only log 1-2 things that were different from normal.

Step 4: Build Your Daily Habit

Tracking only works if you actually do it. Here's how to make it stick:

When to Log

Option A: End of Day Log inputs before bed. Quick review of your day while it's fresh.

Option B: Morning Recall Log the previous day when you wake up. Works if you don't want phone time before bed.

Option C: Throughout the Day Log inputs as they happen. Most accurate but requires more attention.

Pick whatever fits your life. Consistency matters more than timing.

The 30-Second Rule

If logging takes more than 30 seconds, you're tracking too much. Trendwell's exception-based system should make most days very quick:

1. Open app
2. Glance at today's inputs
3. Note any exceptions to your defaults
4. Done

If you're spending more time than this, simplify your inputs.

Step 5: Your First Week

Days 1-3: Just Log

Don't try to optimize yet. Just build the habit of logging your inputs each day. Don't change your behavior—you need baseline data first.

Days 4-7: Keep Logging, Notice Patterns

You might start noticing patterns even in the first week:

• "I went to bed late three nights and felt tired those mornings"
• "The day after I exercised, I had more energy"

These are early signals. Keep logging.

End of Week 1: Review

After a week, look at your data:

• Did you track every day? (If not, what got in the way?)
• Any obvious patterns emerging?
• Are you tracking the right inputs? (Adjust if needed)

Step 6: Weeks 2-3: Find Your Correlations

This is where Trendwell's value emerges. With 2-3 weeks of data, patterns become clear:

• "When my sleep opportunity is before 10:30pm, I rate my sleep quality 2 points higher on average"
• "When I stop eating by 7pm, I fall asleep faster"
• "Caffeine after 2pm correlates with worse sleep"

These aren't generic advice—they're your patterns, discovered from your data.

Step 7: Experiment

Once you see a correlation, test it:

1. Hypothesis: "Earlier bedtime improves my sleep quality"
2. Experiment: Commit to sleep opportunity before 10:30pm for one week
3. Measure: Track sleep quality rating each morning
4. Result: Did the pattern hold?

One input change at a time. Give each experiment a week to see results.

Quick Reference: Input Definitions

Input	What to Log	When Different From Default
Sleep opportunity	Time you got in bed to sleep	Later or earlier than usual
Caffeine cutoff	Time of your last caffeine	Later than your usual cutoff
Last meal	When you finished eating	Later than usual
Alcohol	If and how much you drank	Any drinking (if default is none)
Exercise	If and when you exercised	Different from your routine
Stress level	Your subjective stress (1-10)	Higher or lower than typical

Common First-Week Questions

"How precise should my logging be?"

Precision matters less than consistency. "Before 10pm" vs "10:07pm"—either works. Just be consistent with how you track.

"What if I miss a day?"

It happens. Log what you remember the next day if you can, or skip it and keep going. One missed day doesn't ruin your data.

"Should I track outcomes too?"

Yes—but briefly. Each morning, rate your outcome (sleep quality, energy level, etc.) on a simple 1-10 scale. This is how you'll see correlations with your inputs.

"The suggested inputs don't seem right for me"

Trust yourself. Add inputs you suspect matter; remove ones that don't apply. You know your life better than any algorithm.

"Can I track more than one outcome?"

Yes, eventually. But start with one. Get the habit established, see results, then expand. Tracking everything at once usually means tracking nothing well.

What's Next

After your first few weeks with Trendwell:

• Read: How to Read Your Trends Dashboard
• Read: Understanding Correlations in Trendwell
• Explore: Why Input-Based Tracking Works
• Try: Your First Week with Trendwell

Welcome to tracking what you control. Your insights are waiting.

---

Last updated: January 2026