I started the mid-month habit check a couple of months ago, without thinking it would become a thing, but it was quite by accident. I’ve made a habit of checking up on my habits mid-month. I almost hesitate to call it a habit because me and habits (except the bad ones) don’t get along in the best way. Though I am trying to make friends with them. You know, start with casual conversation and work up to the ‘friends’ thing. I’d like to be friends, but they seem snobbish. Did I just seriously go there? I guess it’s a good analogy.

Here’s the video of putting together the Habit Tracker for the month:

November’s Result

Soooooo… You might be wondering what happened last month (and if you sneak down to the mid-month check… you might wonder about this month too!) I wonder what happened too. But the thing that I have learned when I fall off the wagon per se, I have to hop back on as though nothing happened. I recently read a book (ok, I listened) on habits – “Better Than Before” (the link is below) in keeping with my “Things to Work on” goal list – to read or listen to more books. So I requested it again. There were so many good things she talked about, but she did say that if you take a break from habits, it is generally harder to keep with it again. If you need a break, define the break and then start-up again like you never stopped. So I was just on a break with my November tracking.

What to do when you habit-fail at your habit tracker

November Habit Tracker: We Were on a Break!

After listening to those words, they really resounded with me. How many times have I tried to lose weight or tried to start exercising or all the things that we intend to do, but stop? It is so much harder the next time! I am just telling myself that ‘we were on a break’ and that I never really stopped, I will just resume where I was before and keep going. I’ll have to report back next month to see how that goes.

Summertime and holiday time are the hardest times for consistancy – because life is anything but consistent during those times. I probably should have taken that into consideration when I created this month’s habit tracker and scaled it down a bit. So here’s the habit check for the month – I kept the same habits from the last couple of months and added a couple of extras.

December Mid-Month Habit Check:

The results as of the 15th of December: I must still be on a break. If I get up earlier, I tend to get things done in the morning and don’t procrastinate doing them and just not get them done at all because I don’t feel like it in the evening. So I have learned, if I have a lot of tasks to do, I need to get up early and get them done. I told my husband that I wanted to be in bed at 11 – and he has reminded me a couple of times to wrap things up at night so I can mark it on my tracker. I appreciate him knowing me so well.

Overall, I am not too concerned with the {lack of} this habit tracker, giving myself a set break and a date to return in full-force is comforting to me.

Mood Tracker Ratings

Moods are on a scale from 1-5 – partly because I didn’t have colors on hand, partly because I filled up the page and didn’t leave room for a key so I decided to do the tracker in black and gray, but with a little pattern filling up the boxes. Attaching a little key to the outside of the sheet with washi tape is another way to extend your page if you run out of space. I may try that next time.

December Habit & Mood Tracker goes perfect with A Christmas Story "I can't put my arms down" quote - Vertical layout

How I Use My Habit Tracker:

One way is to actively track the habits I am trying to form. I always try to turn it into something positive. ‘No spend’ is a money management tool and not a ‘don’t do that’. The other way that I use my habit tracker is an assessment tool. I’ll include habits that I have not yet decided to change or that I am thinking of changing, but I need to get a realistic idea of where I actually stand. I could be a lot worse or perhaps a lot better than where I was before. This method also makes my habit tracker less intimidating. It provides an interesting mix. I don’t indicate which, I just kind of know in my own head but it has helped me actually use the tracker.

Yes, I realize that I spelled ‘horrible’ wrong. I discovered it after I took the picture. But It just kind of adds to how ‘horrible’ the day would have been. There are certain mistakes that you just have to shrug and move on. I just hope the internet doesn’t scold me too much for a simple mistake. If it does, it must be having a ‘horible’ day too.

How I track moods:

It wasn’t until recently that I started tracking moods. I could never classify one mood per day. Some days were like a rollercoaster ride and all over the place. To track moods, I knew I needed to break the days into sections of time or regular events, so I track by Before Work, Work, After Work, Dinner, After Dinner, and Sleep Categories and I rate by the time of the day. Sleep isn’t really a mood, but it’s nice to know how well I felt I slept.

Question for you:

I am curious for those who track just one or two moods per day how you classify your moods. I can have a crappy day at work, but be fine at home. Let me know if you track your moods and how in the comments below. I’d love to know! If you have an Instagram post or a Pinterest pin or a blog post – feel free to leave a link to your habit tracker/mood tracker. I’d love to do a feature post!

Remember to plan your life so you live beautifully.

~Tricia

Hello, September.

How I’ve missed you.

Fall is a time that gives me the…well warm fuzzies. Even though September is not yet full-on fall, there is a certain deliciousness that comes with the crisp nights and cooling weather, the warm hues all over the tree tops as the autumn colors dot the horizon. The reds, oranges, yellows, soft browns, and PURPLE! Purple is a fall color I swear.

Apple strudel is definitely on the menu. I don’t care if I have to eat the entire pan by myself because no one else in my family likes it. I wouldn’t say that is necessarily negative, I consider it a perk.

September feels like a great time to cuddle up with a fuzzy blanket and read a book. I thought maybe I could have this Monthly Intro Page do double duty as a book tracking page (I’ve also heard the page called monthly cover page/splash page/monthly greeting or welcome page) whatever you call this “Hello September” page, I love the way it turned out. I added touches of iridescent watercolor paint after coloring with Papermate Flair Pens and using a water brush for blending.

As with most pages that I paint, I get caught up in the artwork and want to keep it for the beauty of the art. I don’t want to write on it! We shall see if I decide to deface the cover page and turn it into a reading tracker.

See how pretty that paint is? It shimmers.

Sigh.

Monthly Page Layout:

This month, I shrunk the size of the day’s boxes and am adding a smaller habit tracker fto the side of the page. Another reason I love fall is the return of a regular schedule. Don’t get me wrong. I love summer for the freedom it allows, but fall provides needed structure in my life (and my children’s lives!).

Blending Tombow Dual Brush markers has fascinated me. I’ve seen it all over instagram – so I tried it. Surprisingly, I really like the color combination of the orange #933 and the purple #636. I plan to write in black so scaling the numbers up in the day boxes and using them as a ‘background’ was perfect.

I wanted more fall colors and leaves. Lots of leaves. I never realized how hard leaves were to draw! Using a variety of the Papermate flair pens, I drew out basic leaf shapes (you can see my pencil marks) and filled in with colors and used a water brush to blend the colors. The flair pens don’t blend completely, but I really like the look it gives in this case. On some of the leaves, I went back and outlined them again.

The return of the habit tracker

Since fall is the return of schedules, it is the return of the neglected Habit Tracker to my bullet journal. Using the space on the right-side of the page, I added a baby-step tracker filled with only the essential items. Habits that I truly need to form {or break!}. As you can see, there are a lot of personal-development items on my habit tracker. It’s time to get my personal life back into shape!

For creating an effective habit tracking:

I am rather pleased by the colors and the layout for September. I added the washi tape for goals and the ‘to do’ section quite by accident. They are actually covering a hand-lettering mistake. The tape is sparkly orange and I wrote on it with a white “Recollections” opaque marker that I found at Michael’s in the loose pen aisle. I mark the monthly spread pages with washi tape for easy navigation. I added the white dots to the lettered titles too. I like the texture it gives and gives the text even more whimsy.

I wasn’t intending to add leaves to the boxes on the calendar, but it became necessary as I smeared the ink on number 13. I can’t tell, nor do I care because I like the added leaves! The number 25 may need some of the same help. Or maybe I should fill that day with plenty of fall activities that I will never know otherwise.

How do you fix errors on your page? Washi tape? Art? Stickers? Just leave it? Bullet journaling has taught me that it’s ok to make mistakes and to love them for what they are. Let me know what you do in the comments below.