What do you do to hold yourself accountable and reach the goals of your dreams? Are you persistent, a go-getter, or do you find it hard to commit to your goals and truly turn it into a full fledged habit by tracking consistently?
Are you reading this and wondering how people stick to their commitments when you can’t even meal prep more than just one random Sunday mayyybe once per month even though you planned on making it a weekly thing?
Or maybe you started a new workout regimen, got two weeks in and fell off the bandwagon? Whatever it may be I’d love to show you the habit tracker I use to make my dreams become reality.
Narrow Down Your Goals
Make a list of 2-3 big goals you’ve been dying to achieve. This may be something like getting fit, starting a new hobby, running more, etc.
If you end up writing down so many goals because you are just too excited to start and have high expectations of yourself, then stop right now. We can only take on so much at once, that’s why it’s better to remain focused on one task at a time, and once you master that you can add more on the next time around.
Set Action Steps
From these big goals write down action steps you can take to help those lovely dreams come true. I’d recommend starting with 4-5 at first to keep it manageable so you don’t burn out and you’ll also be more likely to complete the habits.
This could be jogging 3x a week, yoga 2x a week, gratitude journaling daily, drinking 80oz of water daily. Be specific and think of how you’ll be able to measure your success.
Get Organized + Set a Routine
Feel free to download my printable tracker and leave it somewhere you’ll re-visit daily. I glued mine into a notebook and bring it to work to fill out during my lunch break. Some people rely on adding it to their morning or bedtime routine. Make sure it works for you!
Think about what tasks you already do daily. Perhaps putting it next to your toothbrush isn’t such a bad idea? Or sticking it on the wall of your closet next to your clothes? Put it in your daily journal… or on your night stand?
Use your intuition, if you usually wake up the latest you possibly can before brushing your teeth and running out the door, then making this a daily morning task will not work out well. Just make sure you commit to doing it daily for 3 WHOLE MONTHS and have a routine planned ahead of time.
Download My Tracker Here
Start Habit Trackin’
Okay so you set your goals, figured out your action steps, and have your tracker in a conveniently accessible spot. Now what?
You start trackin’! Begin any day of the week or any time of the month and either check, cross, or color in each box when you make that habit happen. (Sometimes I love using colored markers… it just makes me happy- I feel like I achieved so much when I can physically color in a box.)
Now keep at it for 3 months and don’t give up!
Need more habit examples?
Your habits can vary from being health oriented to being more financial based. It all depends on the goals you set for yourself. Here are a few habits that might help navigate you on the habit tracker journey:
- Sleep 7-9 hours
- Go to bed at 10:30pm nightly
- Daily gratitude log
- Meditate 15 minutes/day
- Drink less than 1-2 alcoholic drinks 2x per week
- Yoga 3x per week
- Meal prep on Sundays
- Eat out 2x per week
- Read 1 chapter daily
- Drink 80oz of water daily
- Eating 2 cups of veggies with 2 meals a day
- Turn off all electronics 2hrs before bed
- Walk 10,000 steps per day
- Do Pilates 5x per week
- Bike to work daily
- Walk to the park 4x a week
- Workout in the morning 5x per week
It’s OKAY if you don’t follow your action steps 100% of the time. (I’m not even that good… that extra glass of wine here and there *cough *cough).
The point is that you are starting to think about them on a daily basis and soon that will become a habit. This way, it will become second nature and you won’t even be intentionally thinking about doing it anymore.
Remember my friends, it takes 3 MONTHS for a habit to form. Please don’t get discouraged and quit after 1 month. Bad habits are hard to break, but they are breakable, just give it time.
So go download my form, or even write it out in your own journal. Heck, they even have apps for this now. Just DO IT.
Happy habit trackin’ my friends!
A registered nurse, certified health coach, and wellness enthusiast.