Free Habit Tracker to Help You Reach Your Goals

A habit tracker is an incredible tool that can help you achieve almost any goal.

I’m willing to bet that a majority (if not all) of your goals can be easily accomplished over time via the power of habit. Habits are little actions taken each day or each week that eventually build up to a bigger goal.

Goals that can be achieved by setting better habits

Is your goal to lose weight?

• Work out daily (or at least 5 days/week)
• Remove processed foods from your daily diet
• Get 8 hours of sleep a night
• Drink 64+ ounces of water each day

Want to get organized?

• Set aside 15 minutes a day to clean your home
• Commit to sorting through your paper mail and recycling what you don’t need each day
• Aim for inbox zero at the end of each work day

Want to save money?

• Bring your own lunch to work each day
• Brew your own coffee each morning
• Regularly update and maintain a budget spreadsheet

Why habit trackers are so effective

Years ago I started using a habit tracker to help motivate myself to consistently make progress towards achieving my goals.

The inspiration for my habit tracker came from Jerry Seinfeld. I read an article on Lifehacker a few years ago titled “Jerry Seinfeld’s Productivity Secret” where he explains how he harnessed the power of habit in order to improve the quality of his writing.

Seinfeld said that each year he buys a giant calendar that displays all of the days of the year on one sheet. His goal is to improve his writing by practicing daily. Each day he writes, he marks a big X on that day of his calendar. After a week or two of consistent X’s he doesn’t want to break that chain. After a month or two of X’s it becomes even more motivating to keep up the habit!

My habit tracker works similarly but instead of a giant calendar on a wall limited to only tracking one habit, I made mine with the ability to track up to 10 daily habits!

How does a habit tracker work?

This habit tracker is formatted like a Gantt chart where habits are written in the left column, dates are listed along the top. Each day you complete one habit, you check the correct box for that habit on that day.

I like that this habit tracker is broken out by month because sometimes after trying a new habit for a month, I want to tweak it slightly for the next month or remove it altogether if it is no longer adding value to my daily life.

Daily Habit Ideas:

Below I brainstormed a handful of daily habits you might want to consider for yourself this year!

HOME

• Clean for 15 Minutes (you will be AMAZED by how much you can do in 15 mins)
• Inbox Zero
• Sort Physical Mail
• Make Your Bed

PHYSICAL HEALTH

• Exercise (because “exercise” is sort of a blanket term, you can break it out into specifics)
• Lift Weights
• Stretch / Yoga
• Cardio
• Zero Sugar
• Zero Processed Food
• Sleep 8 Hours
• Drink 64oz Water

MENTAL HEALTH

• Meditate
• Read 30 mins
• Journal

WEALTH

• Bring Lunch
• Brew Coffee
• Update Budget
• Cook Dinner

ENVIRONMENT

• Trash Free (try to go at least 3 days a week without creating any trash)
• Zero Plastic (go 3 or more days a week without purchasing water bottles, plastic wrapped foods, pre-packaged lunches, etc.)
• Use Public Transit (leave the car in the garage, bike/walk/bus wherever you need to go instead)