Habit trackers are a very popular tool among Bullet Journalists, and for a good reason – they help improving your lifestyle and achieving your goals. This is why you should totally consider using them. Not sure how to start? Worry not! In this post I gathered all the information on what is a habit tracker, how to use one and how it can help you to lead a better life.
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What Is A Habit Tracker
A habit tracker is… well… a way to track your habits.
Duh.
Basically instead of writing down the same task every day (for example – go do some yoga!), you already have it all written in separate page and you just have to tick it if you completed the task.
It’s usually a big double entry table including the dates and the habits you want to track. You can color or simply tick off the days when you complete the habit. Of course the Bullet Journal community is full of talented people who found new and exciting ways to track their habits. But if you’re just starting, I’d advise you to go for the basic format first.
READ: How To Overcome Bullet Journal First Page Fear
Why You Should Use A Habit Tracker
I’ve been using habit trackers in my Bullet Journal every single month, so let me share my experience.
First and foremost – habit trackers are a great motivation to do things. It sounds silly, but at the end of the day, getting to color that little square in your tracker really motivates to do it. Here is the secret: Our brains are hard-wired into wanting to ALWAYS complete things. That’s why puzzles are so addictive. So having an empty square at the end of the day, will basically make your brain motivate you to try and follow your habits. It’s science!
Second – it helps to encourage you! Let’s say you’ve been working out every day this week, but when the next Monday comes, you don’t really feel like doing it. Take a look at how pretty your tracker looks with all these squares filled! Look at how far you’ve already come. For me – it’s a great encouragement to not give up.
Third – you can see your patterns. This is very important! Some habits just don’t stick. With a habit tracker you’ll be able to see why, and change your schedule accordingly.
Fourth – it helps you establish a daily routine. I said it once and I’ll say it a million times – having routines is very important when you’re working on increasing your productivity. And having a habit tracker makes sure that every day you stick to your usual routines
And finally – a habit tracker can help you achieve your goals. When you set your goals, don’t just think on what you gotta do, think of what kind of person you want to become. Basically – what kind of habits you should have to get one step closer to your ideal self. For example, if (to be honest there is no if there, that’s really something I want to do) I want to become a full time blogger, I need to make sure I write at least a little bit every day. The habit tracker is helping me to stay on track with that, developing a habit and a skill, getting me closer to my goals!
READ: 11 Things To Know Before Starting A Bullet Journal
Habit Tracker Setup
There are different ways to set up your habit tracker, and my advice would be to try them all and see which one works best for you.
There are three types of trackers. First is a yearly tracker. These are great, because you get to see your path through the whole year, and it’s very encouraging to see your progress. However this format has a con as well – in time, you might change the habits you track, or find that some habits are not really worth tracking anymore.
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The second type of habit trackers are monthly trackers. This is the format I like the most. You will see the overview of the month and understand what worked and what didn’t, so you can make changes accordingly for the next month.
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The third type is weekly habit trackers. I use those as well, but personally just for some weekly chores. But I do know that a lot of people find that they follow their habits more if they have the tracker right there in the weekly spread. So give them a try, maybe they’ll be the best option for you as well.
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The last type are daily trackers. These are convenient, because you can fill out your tracker right there in your daily spread. I personally use them for some simple things like water intake – something I have to do daily but don’t necessarily need to see the patterns. More of a reminder if you will.
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You can check out this amazing video about 5 different setups for your Habit Trackers.
What To Track In Your Habit Tracker
I would say there are a few categories of what you can add to your habit tracker. First – just things you want to do on a more regularly basis (going to bed at 10 pm, I mean you!). Second – some things you just want to see when was the last time you did them – how often you went for a walk? When was the last time you did that hair mask? And third – actual new habits I’m working on.
READ: 155+ Things You Can Track In Your Bullet Journal
As you can guess this can create a very long list and eventually turn filling out tracker into a chore. We don’t want that. So try not to overdo it, don’t track everything. Otherwise you just won’t get any positive results.
My solution to the problem is using different kind of trackers. I have an important monthly habit tracker, but for small tasks, like cleaning chores and beauty treatments, I use a weekly tracker.
30 Things To Track In Your Bullet Journal
To give you some ideas to start with, see below 30 different things you can track:
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- Water consumption
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- Exercise
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- Vitamins Intake
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- Sleep before a certain time
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- Early wake up
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- Sleeping for 8 hours
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- Meditation
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- Sexy times 😀
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- No junk food
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- Affirmations
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- Reading
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- No money spent
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- Journaling
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- Creative time
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- Miracle Morning
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- 10 000 Steps
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- Make bed
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- Laundry
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- Water plants
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- No sugar
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- Vacuum
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- “Me” time
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- Talk to family / friends
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- Random act of kindness
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- Ironing
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- Personal development
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- Study time
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- Beauty routine
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- Period
- Bible Study
READ: Bullet Journal Essentials: Must Have Supplies For Beginners
What do you track in your Bullet Journal? And what format works the best for you? Let me know in the comments section below.
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Are you a Bullet Journal beginner? Check my Ultimate Guide To Bullet Journal For Beginners!
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