HOW TO KEEP YOUR HABITS ON TRACK
A habit tracker is a simple way to measure whether you did a habit. The
most basic format is to get a calendar and cross off each day you stick with
your routine. For example, if you meditate on Monday, Wednesday, and
Friday, each of those dates gets an X. As time rolls by, the calendar becomes
a record of your habit streak.
Countless people have tracked their habits, but perhaps the most famous
was Benjamin Franklin. Beginning at age twenty, Franklin carried a small
booklet everywhere he went and used it to track thirteen personal virtues.
This list included goals like “Lose no time. Be always employed in
something useful” and “Avoid trifling conversation.” At the end of each
day, Franklin would open his booklet and record his progress.
Jerry Seinfeld reportedly uses a habit tracker to stick with his streak of
writing jokes. In the documentary Comedian, he explains that his goal is
simply to “never break the chain” of writing jokes every day. In other
words, he is not focused on how good or bad a particular joke is or how
inspired he feels. He is simply focused on showing up and adding to his
streak.
“Don’t break the chain” is a powerful mantra. Don’t break the chain of
sales calls and you’ll build a successful book of business. Don’t break the
chain of workouts and you’ll get fit faster than you’d expect. Don’t break
the chain of creating every day and you will end up with an impressive
portfolio. Habit tracking is powerful because it leverages multiple Laws of
Behavior Change. It simultaneously makes a behavior obvious, attractive,
and satisfying.
Let’s break down each one.
Benefit #1: Habit tracking is obvious.
Recording your last action creates a trigger that can initiate your next one.
Habit tracking naturally builds a series of visual cues like the streak of X’s
on your calendar or the list of meals in your food log. When you look at the
calendar and see your streak, you’ll be reminded to act again. Research has
shown that people who track their progress on goals like losing weight,
quitting smoking, and lowering blood pressure are all more likely to
improve than those who don’t. One study of more than sixteen hundred
people found that those who kept a daily food log lost twice as much weight
as those who did not. The mere act of tracking a behavior can spark the urge
to change it.
Habit tracking also keeps you honest. Most of us have a distorted view
of our own behavior. We think we act better than we do. Measurement
offers one way to overcome our blindness to our own behavior and notice
what’s really going on each day. One glance at the paper clips in the
container and you immediately know how much work you have (or haven’t)
been putting in. When the evidence is right in front of you, you’re less
likely to lie to yourself.
Benefit #2: Habit tracking is attractive.
The most effective form of motivation is progress. When we get a signal
that we are moving forward, we become more motivated to continue down
that path. In this way, habit tracking can have an addictive effect on
motivation. Each small win feeds your desire.
This can be particularly powerful on a bad day. When you’re feeling
down, it’s easy to forget about all the progress you have already made.
Habit tracking provides visual proof of your hard work—a subtle reminder
of how far you’ve come. Plus, the empty square you see each morning can
motivate you to get started because you don’t want to lose your progress by
breaking the streak.
Benefit #3: Habit tracking is satisfying.
This is the most crucial benefit of all. Tracking can become its own form of
reward. It is satisfying to cross an item off your to-do list, to complete an
entry in your workout log, or to mark an X on the calendar. It feels good to
watch your results grow—the size of your investment portfolio, the length
of your book manuscript—and if it feels good, then you’re more likely to
endure.
Habit tracking also helps keep your eye on the ball: you’re focused on
the process rather than the result. You’re not fixated on getting six-pack abs,
you’re just trying to keep the streak alive and become the type of person
who doesn’t miss workouts.
In summary, habit tracking (1) creates a visual cue that can remind you
to act, (2) is inherently motivating because you see the progress you are
making and don’t want to lose it, and (3) feels satisfying whenever you
record another successful instance of your habit. Furthermore, habit
tracking provides visual proof that you are casting votes for the type of
person you wish to become, which is a delightful form of immediate and
intrinsic gratification.
*
You may be wondering, if habit tracking is so useful, why have I waited
so long to talk about it?
Despite all the benefits, I’ve left this discussion until now for a simple
reason: many people resist the idea of tracking and measuring. It can feel
like a burden because it forces you into two habits: the habit you’re trying
to build and the habit of tracking it. Counting calories sounds like a hassle
when you’re already struggling to follow a diet. Writing down every sales
call seems tedious when you’ve got work to do. It feels easier to say, “I’ll
just eat less.” Or, “I’ll try harder.” Or, “I’ll remember to do it.” People
inevitably tell me things like, “I have a decision journal, but I wish I used it
more.” Or, “I recorded my workouts for a week, but then quit.” I’ve been
there myself. I once made a food log to track my calories. I managed to do
it for one meal and then gave up.
Tracking isn’t for everyone, and there is no need to measure your entire
life. But nearly anyone can benefit from it in some form—even if it’s only
temporary.
What can we do to make tracking easier?
First, whenever possible, measurement should be automated. You’ll
probably be surprised by how much you’re already tracking without
knowing it. Your credit card statement tracks how often you go out to eat.
Your Fitbit registers how many steps you take and how long you sleep.
Your calendar records how many new places you travel to each year. Once
you know where to get the data, add a note to your calendar to review it
each week or each month, which is more practical than tracking it every
day.
Second, manual tracking should be limited to your most important
habits. It is better to consistently track one habit than to sporadically track
ten.
Finally, record each measurement immediately after the habit occurs.
The completion of the behavior is the cue to write it down. This approach
allows you to combine the habit-stacking method mentioned in Chapter 5
with habit tracking.
The habit stacking + habit tracking formula is:
After [CURRENT HABIT], I will [TRACK MY HABIT].
After I hang up the phone from a sales call, I will move one paper clip
over.
After I finish each set at the gym, I will record it in my workout
journal.
After I put my plate in the dishwasher, I will write down what I ate.
These tactics can make tracking your habits easier. Even if you aren’t the
type of person who enjoys recording your behavior, I think you’ll find a few
weeks of measurements to be insightful. It’s always interesting to see how
you’ve actually been spending your time.
That said, every habit streak ends at some point. And, more important
than any single measurement, is having a good plan for when your habits
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