Notes on habit tracking
Practical writing on habit tracking: building habits that hold, and reading your own data without fooling yourself. Mostly what to do when the system stops working.
Do habit trackers work, and who should skip one
A habit tracker records what you did. It does not make you do it. Here is what that distinction changes, and who is better off without one.
, 7 minute read
RoutinesHabit tracker vs to-do list: they solve different problems
Recurring work on a to-do list turns into a guilt pile. The dividing line is simple: does the task end, or does it come back?
, 6 minute read
StreaksHow long does it take to form a habit? Nobody can tell you
The 21 day figure has no real basis, and the averages that replaced it hide enormous spread. Here is a test that works for your habit instead.
, 6 minute read
SleepSleep debt is real. Catching up on Saturday is not.
An hour short each night is seven hours by Friday. Here is why the weekend lie-in fails to clear it, and what does.
, 6 minute read
Reading your dataWhich body numbers are worth tracking, and which waste your time
BMI, body fat, waist ratio, weight. Four numbers, wildly different usefulness. Here is which to keep and how often to measure them.
, 6 minute read
Reading your dataWhy your watch says you burned 600 calories and you did not
Fitness trackers routinely overstate calorie burn by 20 to 30 percent. Here is where the error comes from and what to do with the number instead.
, 5 minute read
PlanningWhen to quit a habit, and when to shrink it instead
The real test for quitting a habit is not guilt or boredom, it is asking how you would feel about a completed yesterday.
, 6 minute read
RoutinesHabit stacking that works
Pairing a new habit with an old one works, but only if the pairing is specific. Here is the version that survives past week one.
, 6 minute read
Getting back onGetting back on track with habits after a vacation
The first two days back from a trip decide whether a habit resumes or quietly ends. Here is the order to bring them back.
, 6 minute read
RoutinesWhy your habits fall apart on weekends
Weekday habits ride on a schedule you did not build. Weekends remove it, and that is the whole reason your grid goes patchy on Saturdays.
, 5 minute read
ToolsBullet journal or habit tracker app: which one actually lasts
A bullet journal earns its keep as a whole planning system. A habit grid on its own rarely does, and that gap decides which one survives March.
, 6 minute read
Getting startedThe keystone habit test: what to track first
One habit, picked well, makes the next one cheaper. Here is how to find yours instead of guessing your way through an empty grid.
, 6 minute read
RoutinesA morning routine that survives a bad night
Most morning routines only work when nothing went wrong the day before. Here is how to build one that holds up when something did.
, 6 minute read
Reading your dataHow to read a month of habit data
At the end of the month you have a grid full of boxes. Here is how to get something useful out of it instead of just feeling vaguely good or vaguely bad.
, 6 minute read
Getting back onWhy habit trackers stop working after three weeks
The drop-off is not a motivation problem. It is usually five setup mistakes, all of which were baked in on day one.
, 6 minute read
StreaksYou broke a 60 day streak. Now what?
The day after a long streak ends is the highest-risk day in habit tracking. Here is what to do with it, and why the usual advice makes things worse.
, 5 minute read
StreaksHabit streaks, without the guilt
Streaks are a good motivator and a terrible scorekeeper. Here is how to use them without letting a broken one take the whole habit down with it.
, 6 minute read
SleepWhat a month of sleep and mood data can honestly tell you
Two numbers a day will show you patterns worth acting on. It will not show you causes, and the difference matters more than most tracking advice admits.
, 6 minute read
ToolsPaper, spreadsheet, or app: choosing a habit tracker
All three work. They fail differently, and the failure mode is what should decide it. A straight comparison, including where an app is the wrong answer.
, 6 minute read
PlanningHow many habits should you track at once?
Twelve habits on the first of the month is how you end up tracking none by the twentieth. Here is how to pick the number you can actually hold.
, 6 minute read
Start with three habits and one month.
You will know by the end of it whether this is the tracker that sticks. That is a shorter test than most things you have tried.