How to Track Your Habits: Are Habit Trackers the Key to Career Success?

Why? We all probably have a pretty good idea of how we spend our workdays.

Or, we think we have a good idea, anyway. Some of the sneakiest time-wasters and productivity-killing habits might be things you're completely unaware of! 

According to studies, the average worker spends 2 hours and 53 minutes on productive tasks during a workday. We waste time attending inefficient meetings, checking social media, checking email, chatting with coworkers, checking email again, trying to remember what we were supposed to do, and, yes, checking our email. 

All this wasted time at work means we have to play catch-up somewhere. We skip workouts or quality family time to catch up on missed work hours. We grab quick takeout when we've been meaning to prepare fresh food at home. We stay up scrolling, lit by a screen, and use impulse purchases to feel something. We need to fix things, but how? 

In short, we need to build better habits. 

Table of Contents

What is Habit Tracking? 

Habit tracking is the practice of monitoring and repeating behavior. Typically, folks use habit tracking to develop healthier new habits or to ditch unproductive or unhealthy habits that do not serve them. 

One of our favorite habit-tracking experts, James Clear, describes habit trackers in simple terms, 

Habit tracking can be achieved through a variety of methods. While some choose to use journals or calendar-based habit-tracking templates. Other people use habit tracker apps, mentors, or accountability partners.

The Basics of Habit Tracking 

Later in this article, we'll get into step-by-step details to start tracking your habits. However, there are three basic steps to get started on building motivation and consistency when it comes to building new habits and ditching old ones. 

1. Identify Your Goals 

If you're reading this article, you likely have a specific habit you'd like to start to tackle. In other cases, maybe you have a particularly bad habit that you'd like to kick. 

2. Gather the Details, Know Your Why 

The details are important, and they add a ton of clarity to why you're tracking a habit in the first place. First, identify your why.

The "why" should stay at the center. Later in this article, we'll understand the cons of habit tracking. If your habit tracking gets a little out of hand, your why can act as the core that pulls you back in. 

3. Create a Simple Step

Let's use "drink more water" as our intended goal and habit to track. Instead of having a loose "drink more water" goal, make it specific.

Create a small, simplified step that you can achieve repeatedly (daily, weekly, bi-weekly, etc). For the "drink more water" goal, your habit-tracking prompt can look like any of the following, depending on your goals:

4. Prepare for Habit Hiccups 

Create a contingency plan in case you "mess up" in 

This is your plan for when things don't go according to plan. If you break your streak or miss a day, what do you do? This is important to keep your habits on track, instead of giving up when you experience a hiccup. 

The Benefits of Habit Tracking

Habit tracking, when done thoughtfully, is a great way to work at centering the things that matter to you, that make you feel better, and that can help you feel proud of yourself. 

I believe that the benefits of habit-tracking far outweigh the potential cons. Habit-tracking is like packing a tiny snowball and rolling it down a hill covered in fresh snow.

As it rolls downhill, this tiny snowball will help your motivation, improve your focus, grow your CONFIDENCE, increase your productivity, and much more.

1. Create Positive Habits + Ditch Bad Habits

This should come as no surprise since either creating a good habit or ditching a bad one is probably why you're reading this article. Here are a few ideas of positive habits you can start and negative habits you can work to eliminate.

2. Opportunity for Reflection

Habit-tracking allows you to take a better look at lots of things in your life. What can be improved? What doesn't really matter to you anymore? How are you wasting time in your day? What goals make sense to work toward next? 

This reflection gives space to do something we love here at Career Contessa: identify and prioritize your core values! 

3. Improve or Optimize Your Daily Routine 

Once you begin tracking your habits, that "snowball" effect will likely take hold. What else could you improve? What habits should you get rid of? Tracking your habits could give you more insight into how you spend your time, where you waste the most energy, and what to re-prioritize. 

Potential Pitfalls of Habit Tracking 

Many folks swear by habits like morning pages, daily walks, and mindful meditation. So, how could habit tracking be bad? Let's quickly explore some very real benefits of habit tracking, and the potential pitfalls of tracking it all! 

I'd be remiss to publish this article without discussing a few pitfalls of habit tracking, and I have experienced them!

In an age where everything is very trackable, we can get absolutely inundated with data, statistics, and a lifetime of history. While it's amazing to see data over time, it can bring constant pressure to do more, better. 

1. Obsessing Over Habit Building + Habit Streaks

Anyone with a fitness tracker can likely relate to this phenomenon. Tracking habits is fun. Habit tracker templates and habit tracker apps take it to the next level—complete with rewards, milestones, and a push to achieve even more! 

Since it's an inherently gamified practice, every day brings you a step further on your streak, but to what end? 

Habit tracking can become a little insidious when you become fixated on a streak or constantly improving your statistics. For example, my Apple watch keeps track of my daily movements. Whenever I reach my move goal, a fuchsia ring animates, vibrates, and celebrates my commitment to physical health across my devices. 

After a while, I might achieve a perfect week, a perfect month, and so on. My best friend and I have joked that we will be calling each other on our deathbeds to ask the other if they ever achieved the "5,000 Move Goals" badge. 

Sometimes, it feels like these rewards are designed to get you hooked. As a hyper-analytical Virgo, it's not really healthy for me to become so fixated on goals that, in the end, don't really matter to me. 

2. Losing Track of Your Why 

This is why it's important to habit track responsibly. :)

Keep track of the habits you want to practice in the long term.

This doesn't necessarily mean you must achieve this habit 1,000 consecutive days in a row. If you're working toward goals like physical exercise or learning new skills, give yourself days off. Use this time to reflect on your goals and celebrate the strides you've made. 

As with anything, moderation is key. Even working towards healthy habits can get out of when you lose track of your why. 

3. It's Distracting 

Data can be distracting! Ask any statistician, and they'll let you know that data can be used to make something sound more or less impressive.

Marketers loooooove to do wild things with data. (Don't worry. It's okay to say this since I am technically a marketer!)

So, imagine you're a marketer building a website for your first startup. To attract new investors, you want to show real growth. Here's where the numbers come in.

Which version of copy would you like to show your investors?

The long and painful point I am trying to make here? Data does not define how well you are doing. Sometimes, it's best to go for a walk without your Fitbit or read a book without logging in to your Goodreads account. 

Data can be distracting. 

Habit Tracking Apps to Try 

Habit-tracking apps distill habit tracking down to its basic elements and make it easy to track and view your habits—preferably in a visually appealing way.  Habit-tracking apps have simple but bold interfaces that provide visual, layered statistics.

These apps can help users set goals, track their moods, and participate in healthy habits like daily meditation. 

With an app like Habitify, for example, users can easily track their sugar intake, mood trackers, running goals, and more in one place. 

Habitify 

Habitify is a minimal, easy-to-use habit tracker designed for iOS, watchOS, macOS, Android, and the web. It reminds and motivates you to tackle your habits every day while tracking your progress and rewarding you with beautiful streaks. Habitify is designed to simplify personal development while keeping you engaged and motivated in your own personal goals and development!

Habitica 

Need help with your habits? Use Habitica to motivate yourself to achieve your goals. Habitica is a free* habit-building and productivity app that helps gamify everything. With in-game rewards to motivate and a strong social network to inspire you, Habitica can help you achieve your goals to become healthy, hard-working, and happy.

*Habitica also has a paid version. 

Streaks

With the iOS Health app, Streaks can automatically track certain goals. It's pretty simple. Every day you complete a task, your streak is extended. Use Streaks to create up to 24 tasks to track. 

Streaks know that some tasks aren’t for every day. Set customizable task days to keep your streak going (without burning out on doing something every day!) 

Strides 

Looking for a place to track your habits and your SMART goals—all at once? Try Strides, a flexible habit-tracking app with four tracker types to customize to your needs. Get organized and track anything you want to build the perfect routine. Stay motivated with charts and reminders to achieve your goals.

Productive 

It's all in the name. Productive is the way to create healthy and long-lasting habits. THis daily habit tracker app helps you build positive habits and new routines. 

Monitor your progress with detailed analytics and visualizations using their advanced habit-tracking. When you want to "level-up" on your habits, use Productive's challenges on your own or with fellow users. We love a good accountability partner! 

Notion

Are you a habit-tracker who likes to engage in a little digital DIY? In that case, Notion's habit-tracking templates might be the best place to start. Make or break habits using Notion's habit-tracking templates. 

How to Try Habit Tracking on Paper 

Hey there, analog people; I see you! If you're a paper and pen (and stickers! Don't forget stickers!) person like me, then you're not going to let an app get the satisfaction of checking someone off your to-do list. 

Daily Planner 

I love to use my planner to track my daily habits. I typically dedicate a little corner of my planner to help to track things like:

While my planner isn't a dedicated habit tracker, it's something I look at every day, which makes it the most dependable place for me to keep an eye on my habits and work on new ones! 

Beyond tracking habits, it's a nice visual reminder of things I might want to start tracking—like my moods, progress toward a professional goal, or time spent outdoors catching some vitamin D! 

Bullet Journaling 

Bullet Journals are built for habit tracking and goal-keeping. Bullet Journals, or Bujos, typically include four foundational elements:

To learn more about the art of bullet journaling (and it is an art!), check out our article on bullet journals, how to create one, and some of the best examples of visually appealing bullet journals!

High-Visibility Paper Templates

If you're committed to tracking your habits on paper, but you want or need your habit to be visible, it's time to get crafty! 

Using your favorite search engine, search for terms like "habit tracker templates" or "habit tracker printables" and get ready to be amazed! 

There are thousands of customized templates to help you track every habit you can dream up. Whether your style is simple and straightforward or flowery and colorful, there is a habit tracker ready for you to print and hang on your wall. 

If you want to read more about habits, productivity, and goal-setting, you're in luck. We have a ton of content covering these topics. Check them out!