Habit tracking for beginners
Many of us enter the new year with good intentions of eating healthier, getting in better shape, quitting smoking, or saving more money. Achieving such goals takes time and often requires us to change our existing habits. This can be challenging and often fails without a plan. A habit tracker is a smart planning tool that can help you concretize your goals and keep track of your progress. Learn how to get started with habit tracking in this blog post.
What is a habit tracker?
A habit tracker, also known as a habit tracker, comes in the form of both a board and a pad and can help you build new habits or maintain existing ones. You define which habits you want to focus on before the beginning of the month. Each day, you can fill in a box for each activity you have completed that day. After a month, you have a clear overview of your progress. If your habit tracker has many filled-in boxes, you can pat yourself on the back – you are well on your way to building habits that bring you closer to your overall goal.
Why use a habit tracker?
The advantage of habit tracking is that it breaks down large goals into smaller sub-goals, making it more manageable to stick to your New Year's resolutions. Let's take the goal of getting in good shape as an example. You can implement a variety of habits in your daily life, all contributing to improving your fitness. These habits could include cardio, strength training, 7-8 hours of sleep, and a healthy diet. Now you have four specific actions to focus on instead of the end goal, which may seem like a challenging task to accomplish.
You will likely find it satisfying to fill in the boxes; almost like a small reward at the end of the day. It becomes even more gratifying after days or weeks where you have marked multiple boxes in a row. The sense of reward is what makes habit tracking an extremely effective tool for building habits.
Remember! It's not necessarily every single habit that you need to perform every single day. For example, you can exercise 4 times a week and still consider it a habit. It is natural, therefore, that there will be empty boxes next to certain habits.
How to get started:
When you start using a habit tracker, it can be a good idea to focus on the most important sub-goals right now. The more goals you set, the more overwhelming it becomes to achieve everything in an already busy daily life. Be realistic. A habit tracker is a flexible tool, so you can always add more habits next month if things are going well.
You can use different colors to fill in the boxes in your habit tracker. Colors make it easier to distinguish between information, and you can quickly identify which habits have been fulfilled and which need attention.
You also gain a better overview of your patterns. There may be specific periods where certain habits are more challenging to maintain. Perhaps you don't do enough cardio in the colder months because outdoor running is your preferred form of cardio. If you recognize the pattern, you can take steps to change it, such as pulling out warmer workout clothes from the bottom of the closet or using the treadmill instead.
Another good tip for those who want to start using a habit tracker is to place it somewhere in your home where you frequently pass by. This way, you will always be reminded of your goals. Additionally, filling in the habit tracker becomes an easier task when it is easily accessible. Many people use a notebook for their habit tracker, but it is actually even more noticeable if it hangs as a board on the wall. Our habit tracker pad fits perfectly on this metal board, which can be mounted on the wall.
Give habit tracking a try and let 2024 be the year when your New Year's resolutions finally become a reality. Good luck!
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