Starting a good habit is easy. Sticking to one is a challenge. Habit trackers make indispensable tools for tracking and measuring your progress with a new habit. 

How Habit Tracking Works For You:

Reminds You to Take Action

Habit trackers such as planners, journals, or apps present your progress visually.  Seeing improvements will motivate you to keep the habit and stay consistent.

Keeps You Honest

It is natural to seek shortcuts to make the habit-forming process easier and faster. But shortcuts are not always a good solution. Habit trackers show us accurate measurements of our progress. These tools indicate if you are slacking, wandering off track, or maintaining a steady improvement. For example, tracking what you eat will show how often you actually consume that "rare" ice cream treat.

Motivates You to Continue

Apps and journals give you organized visual feedback. These show how much improvement you have made towards building a particular habit.  When you see your wins, no matter how small, you become motivated and focused on keeping your new habit.

How Does Habit Tracking Work?

To track habits successfully, you must know your intentions. Ask yourself what you want to achieve or to be in a particular time frame. Once you know what intentions motivate you, it is time to break down your overarching goal into more specific and actionable ones. Different methods of habit tracking work for different types of people. Let us go over a few tried-and-tested techniques.

Use a Planner

Planners and journals make beneficial tools for habit tracking. You can write down your habit's progress alongside other goal-setting notes on mindfulness, productivity, and growth.  

Journals and planners allow you to take a holistic approach when tracking personal goals, including your habits, on a daily, weekly, monthly, or quarterly basis. 

Use an App

A digital journal or a simple phone alarm or calendar make effective reminders to help you stick to your newfound good habit.

Track Daily, Weekly, and Monthly 

Daily tracking is especially effective for simple habits such as sleeping earlier and gratitude journaling.  Habits that can be carried out a few times periodically, like exercise and talent practice, may best be tracked weekly instead. 

While daily and weekly tracking allows you to see small improvements, monthly monitoring lets you see more meaningful changes over time.

Habit tracking is a mindful method for achieving positive change. It keeps you accountable and focused on incorporating good habits into your daily life. Whether you use pen and paper, a digital tool, or a combination of both, consistently track your patterns to see substantial progress over time.

Photo Credit: elinlannsjo