What I've Learned from Tracking My Habits

By Savannah White

Hi there, it's Savannah here. And, anyone can tell you that I love my habits. It's very, very, very difficult for me to break-up with old habits that are no longer healthy or one that are helping me achieve my goals.

Like snacking. I am a HUGE snacker. But, this isn't a habit I want to keep for a variety of reasons.

I may be the only one, but I wanted change. I wanted to change some of my habits for GOOD. But every time I tried to set a new goal, or change an existing habit...I failed. Or at least didn't exceed as much as I had hoped. It was disheartening.

Thus, that's when it dawned on me that maybe things weren't changing because I was attacking the same issues that I have been trying to overcome with the SAME tactics and strategies that I have always used.

I needed a NEW game plan. On Instagram, (see Mom, social media is good for something!), I saw an account I follow talk about habit trackers. She detailed how it was helpful for her to create a colorful, fun, habit tracker and it really kept her to her goals.

I decided to give it a try. And, I recommend! And, 2 weeks later, here are my takeaways.

Motivating

Creating the habit tracker was fun. (I can detail this in a later post if there is interest!). Coloring it in every day when I accomplished a goal was very, very satisfying. I started really wanting to hit my goals just so that I could color in the box! ;)

Modeled True Change

Just like with any life-long changes, they are gradual and take a lot of work. It took a LOT of work to try to hit even 50% of my goals (I like to set like 12 goals and try to hit half a day). But, I felt like it was an accurate depiction of what setting yourself up for long-term success looks like.

Forces You to Face Reality

If I wasn't as motivated and didn't hit very many of my goals on a particular day, it forced me to face the reality of my laziness and procrastination. The blank un-colored boxes on the tracker seemed to glare at me. It helped me realize just how much I truly allow myself to slack, when I can do so much better.

It honestly came as a surprise to me to see just how much I truly slack off with my goals.

After two weeks, I realized I have much more time in my day than I realize, and the only thing that is standing in my way, is me.

I highly recommend creating your own habit tracker! It will help you stick to your goals and face the reality of your own faults and weaknesses.

Have you ever tried to track your habits? What are your takeaways? Was it easy or hard for you?