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
Getting startedHow long does it take to form a habit? About 66 days, with a huge range
About 66 days on average, anywhere from 18 to 254 in the best-known study. Why 21 days is a myth, and a test for your own habit.
, 8 minute read
SleepHow to recover from sleep debt, and why a Saturday lie-in does not
Recover from sleep debt with earlier bedtimes over a week, not one long lie-in. The maths, a night-by-night plan, and what to fix after.
, 7 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 examples: 40 stacks, and why most first ones fail
40 habit stacking examples for mornings, work, evenings and exercise, plus the formula and the four reasons a first stack falls apart.
, 9 minute read
Getting back onHow to get back on track after vacation, one habit at a time
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
RoutinesHow to keep habits on weekends, when the schedule disappears
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.
, 6 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.
, 7 minute read
StreaksWhat happens if you miss a day of a habit? Less than it feels like
One missed day barely slows a habit down. The two days after it decide whether you lost a day or the habit. Here is what to do with them.
, 8 minute read
StreaksThe never miss twice rule, and how to keep a streak without guilt
Never miss twice: one missed day is an accident, two in a row is a new pattern. What the rule means and how to track it without the guilt.
, 8 minute read
PlanningHow many habits should you track at once? Start with three
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
Getting startedKeystone habits examples, and a test for finding yours
Keystone habits examples, from a fixed wake time to a phone out of the bedroom, and a four-question test for which one is yours.
, 8 minute read
RoutinesA morning routine checklist that survives a bad night
A morning routine checklist built for the worst morning, not the best: one anchor, decisions made the night before, extras you can drop.
, 7 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
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
Getting back onWhy can't I stick to habits? Five setup mistakes behind week three
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
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.