Habits. Sorry for the dirty word.
It can even be a dirty word when you are doing something clean like straightening up or doing the dishes (please pardon the d-word). Here is a mid-month check-up of my September habit tracker. It is much improved from last month or the month before. In the past, I would create habit trackers and never complete them. But that’s the thing, I wanted to complete them. Eventually, I would fill out a couple of boxes on a habit tracker, but nothing real. I was tracking too many habits. So this month, I decided to just track a few habits.
Guess what?! “Habits” is not such a bad word anymore!
Included are things that I knew I wanted to do – and some things I knew I needed to do, but only for improvement. I do enough feeling bad about myself (and I am so tired of that!), I knew I needed a motivation boost.
This month, I tracked doing the dishes on the habit tracker because I knew I needed just to do them instead of playing the game of “who is going to get sick of the dishes first and give in and do them angrily while the other person feels guilty” with my husband. I hate to admit that I play that game sometimes. The problem is, no one wins because if they give in and do the dishes, they are angry and you feel guilty.
If you give in, you are angry. All of these things come from playing a game with dishes.
I have to say that this shows my longest span of doing dishes regularly in a long time, I love marking off the box and seeing the marks. One day, I will have it full. #MyDreamsWillComeTrue
It’s fun to complete it, it’s like a snowball rolling down a large hill. The momentum builds on itself. But the key is that I am having fun. Not all habits are fun (like doing the dishes) but I feel good about what I have accomplished once finished. Marking it off is just another perk.
Having Trouble Keeping Up With Your Habits or Habit Tracker?
If you are having trouble keeping up with your habits or habit tracker, consider paring it down. Eliminate some of the items on your habit tracker. If you are not filling it out anyway, why include them? Include only the items that you know you can carry out, but are a little stretch. Do that for a month, feel good about yourself, then next month add another thing.
The funny thing about habits is that they don’t come all at once. It’s gradual. You are creating a habit of the habit. I think we get into the mindset of ‘I have this habit tracker, now I will perfect my life’. Which is completely untrue and not motivating at all because filling out a habit tracker takes time, motivation, and funny thing, you have to create a habit of filling out your habit tracker.
If you wanted an easy habit to track – just for motivation – add: “Fill out Habit Tracker” to your habit tracker, then fill it out. I know I would think I am hilarious if I did that. But it might just be the motivation I needed to complete some other items on my habit tracker too.
TIP for Beginners:
If you are just starting out and don’t know how to start a habit tracker, check out How to Set up a Habit Tracker.
Tip for Seasoned Bullet Journalers:
If you are more seasoned at habit tracking, check out 4 Ideas to Supercharge your Habit Tracking.
Keep this in mind:
Please keep this in mind if you take nothing else away from this post: Habit Tracking is for self-improvement, not self-detriment. If it is de-motivational rather than motivational, stop for a month and do some self-care instead. I’ve seen some really cute self-care bingo cards on Pinterest. Check out my self-care board.
Habits come over time. They are not immediate. That’s kind of the definition of a habit. Don’t be too hard on yourself. Allow time.
Have a good week and let me know in the comments below what habit you despise the most.
Remember to plan your life so you live beautifully.
~Tricia
![This month’s creative challenge is all about flower names! Use these everyday floral names to expand your creativity throughout this month. Check out the challenge list below, and if you’re having trouble with creative ideas, keep reading. I have lots of ideas to share. Handlettering these words is fun if that’s what you always do. […] The post Creative Challenge: Flower Names appeared first on Chocolate Musings.](https://i0.wp.com/i.pinimg.com/564x/12/65/81/1265815e2ef10a0fd4505524fb3f0eeb.jpg?ssl=1)
I haven’t started my habit tracker, but I think October will be my start month. I am too neurotic to start a habit tracker in the middle of the month, even if I only plan on doing it weekly. I think I’ve been scared to start it because it adds a level of accountability that I’m not ready for. Which, I guess is the point after all. I love the idea of making a habit out of habit though, so I’ll have to use that as my mantra. Thanks!
I don’t blame you! I can’t start one in the middle of the month either. I think if you wanted to give it a try, you could add a ‘weekly’ tracker in your weekly log if you have one. That way you can have the benefit of tracking habits without starting in the middle of the month. The accountability is there, and I learned that I have to limit the number of habits I track otherwise I ignore the page completely for the month.
Tricia recently posted…Emphasis on the RIGHT Words
Great post! I absolutely love my bullet journal! I haven’t started a huge habit tracker page just yet due to my mental health, but I will eventually. I’ve limited it to just three things I should do every day so that I don’t overwhelm myself (I have the tendency to do that – all the time!). Instead, I have a page for each week in which I track my achievements. Do you track achievements, or are you happy with your habit tracker doubling as that?
Hi Claire! Thank you for your comments. Love your site by the way. I have a tendency to overwhelm myself as well! I see habit trackers that are filled to the brim and I know that at this point in my life I would just not fill out the tracker. I track some achievements, I think I need to track more goal-oriented items. For instance, I have an Instagram following tracker but nothing else. What do you track for your achievements?
That’s good! I didn’t think to do a social media following tracker; I should probably do that. I currently have a page on each week spread where I track what I consider to be “essential” habits to track. Every day I want to do at least 5 minutes of German, read for at least 15 minutes, write at least 100 words, and do some form of exercise for 15 minutes. I also include my aim to do at least two blog posts and one newsletter in this. Underneath those habits I also track any achievements. They can be basic (like getting up before 8am) or really big (like learning something new or winning an award), just as long as I write them down.
It’s hard for me to explain without showing you pictures, but I’m actually writing Monday’s blog post on my bullet journal and will be including a video going through my own bullet journal. Feel free to take some of my ideas if they work for you!
This sounds incredible! I look forward to reading it! I find it interesting that filling out a habit tracker has to become a habit like all the other habits we are trying to create.