If someone asked you what your habits are, would you be able to tell them with accuracy? People tend to overestimate how often they do something. It’s only when they begin consciously tracking their habits that they know for sure. To build solid habits that you never forget to do, you should track them in a habit tracker. The Clever Fox Planner has a built-in tracker on each weekly spread. If you like drawing your own habit tracker, then you could use a bullet journal.
Don’t know what to track in your Clever Fox Planner‘s habit tracker or bullet journal habit tracker? By the end of this list of 67 possible things to track, you will have no problem filling out that space in your planner. Before picking habits to develop, write down your top five goals of the year. This will ensure that you are working on relevant habits.
The 67 habit ideas listed below are in no particular order.
1. Drink eight glasses of water.
Know you need to drink more water? Add it to your tracker until you reach the point you can no longer forget your daily glasses of water. To make it less overwhelming, buy a large water bottle, so that you don’t have to fill it as often.
2. Exercise.
You can make this more specific like cardio workout, strength training, or 20 min workout routine. Determine ahead of time how you will exercise and for how long, so that you know what counts as exercise. Don’t let yourself cheat by considering walking more than expected or household chores as exercise. We can’t go into the ins and outs of staying healthy through exercise here, but it’s important to have a routine that includes cardio and strength training.
3. Use your planner or bullet journal.
This is a good habit to start with for people who are new to using planners. Give yourself time to build the habit. If you still struggle to keep up with the planner, you may need to experiment with different formats and types of planners to find which one complements your personality and lifestyle. I personally find the Clever Fox planner because it is very goal-oriented and it covers pretty much every aspect that you can think of. And, of course, it has a built-in habit tracker, which is a must for tracking my habits.
4. Study.
Whether you’re a student or learning a new skill on your own, dedicating a small amount of time each day to study speeds up the learning process. 20 minutes is all you need for a good study session as long as you make it a daily habit.
5. Cook at home.
Want to cut back on your spending this year? One way of accomplishing that is to cook at home regularly. Plan your meals in advance to make it easier to stick to this habit. Also create a recipe bank, so that you can easily flip through the pages to plan your meals.
6. Take vitamins.
Supplementing your health with vitamins is an easy way to help improve your health over the year. Remember to check with your health care physician before taking any vitamins, especially if you venture beyond a standard multivitamin. Vitamins can interfere with medications or you could accidentally overdose on a vitamin you don’t need more of.
7. Symptoms.
Another way of using a bullet journal habit tracker is to track the symptoms you experience if you’re battling a chronic illness. Your doctor can better assist you when you know precisely how frequently you’re experiencing certain symptoms.
For Clever Fox Planner users, you can create your own symptoms tracker in the dot pages at the back of the planner.
8. Check email.
For those who aren’t at “inbox zero”, this is a good habit to add for organizing your life. Deleting just a few old emails each day will eventually bring you down to inbox zero. You’ll feel better checking your email when it’s not cluttered.
9. Meditate.
Meditating for at least 10 minutes a day can improve your focus and productivity while keeping you calmer for longer. Meditation is most beneficial when it’s done consistently rather than randomly or sparingly.
10. Clean.
Getting all of your cleaning done over the weekend can be stressful or put a damper on your days of relaxation. Many people dread cleaning when they know how much they have to get done. By making it a habit to clean a little bit each day, you can prevent the dread and minimize how much you clean overall.
11. Me time.
If you’ve been very busy lately, you may have neglected relaxation and me time. Taking some time for yourself is important for good emotional health, so add it to your habits if it’s an area you need to improve on.
12. Homework.
Similar to cleaning, getting your homework done is less overwhelming when you don’t do it all at once or wait until the last second. For students who struggle with procrastination or not getting their homework done all of the time, this is a good habit to track.
On a day you don’t have homework to complete, you can put a dash or other marker through the box to indicate it wasn’t needed that day.
13. Affirmations.
Stating an affirmation a few times a day, usually in the morning, is an effective way of helping you make a change.
14. Go to bed at ____.
Setting a bed time and sticking to it helps you sleep better at night. For the first few weeks, your body may have to adjust to having a regular sleep routine, but you’ll notice the benefits afterwards.
15. Talk to Mom.
Adults who no longer live with their parents often get caught up in hectic schedules and forget to call their parents. Weeks can pass by without you sending a single phone call. Make it a goal to talk to your mom once or twice a week and track the habit.
You can mark out the boxes for days that you don’t plan on talking to your mom if you’re using a planner like Clever Fox that has boxes for each day of the week.
16. Floss.
Flossing is an important habit to have because it helps prevent gum disease, tartar build-up, and bad breath. It’s essential for oral hygiene.
17. Practice.
When you’re learning a new skill, you need to practice to become good at it. The more you practice, the faster you’ll develop the skill.
18. No more than one hour on social media.
Sometimes, you want to break bad habits like spending too much time on social media. Limit yourself to a set amount of time a day and use an app that tracks how much time you spend on a certain site. This will help you cut back on time wasters like social media.
19. Oil pull.
Oil pulling is a practice some people do every day to improve and maintain good oral health. It involves swishing a spoon of organic coconut oil in your mouth for 20 minutes and then spitting it out into the trash. You can use a few other types of oil but not all.
20. Clean car.
If your car is notorious for being cluttered or dirty, then make it a habit to clean a little each day. Empty out the trash or vacuum the crumbs. Take out belongings that don’t need to be in the car and put them in their proper place. After a while, it will become second nature to keep the car tidy.
21. Journal.
Writing in a journal every night is a therapeutic task. It can help you remember the important moments in your life as well. You would be surprised at how much you forget over the year.
22. Read a chapter.
Reading is a universal good habit to have. Depending on what works best for you, commit yourself to reading a chapter a day or sitting down for a set time period each day to read a book, even if it’s only 15 minutes.
23. Make the bed.
Making the bed every morning develops self-discipline and shows you that you are in control and responsible. As a result, you get your day started right. Those good feelings likely snowball into other areas of your life, so you can accomplish your goals.
24. Forgive.
If someone has hurt you recently, then it may be a good idea to work on forgiving them every day until you have fully forgiven them. Remember that this doesn’t mean you have to let them back into your life. It means that you let go of negative emotions that hold you back.
25. Gratitude.
Consciously thinking of what you’re grateful for on a daily basis helps you feel happier and attract more good things. Do not forget to write it down in your gratitude journal for making this easier.
26. Smile.
Reminding yourself to smile every day can help you feel happy. Whether you watch a funny video or smile when you see the word in your planner, it improves your mental health.
27. Foot massage.
If you’re on your feet most of the day or you often have sore feet after work, then giving yourself a foot massage every evening can relieve the pain. Some people find that regular massage can prevent the pain from occurring.
28. Share.
You don’t have to do anything major to embrace philanthropy. Start small by developing the habit of sharing with others every day. It could be food or a piece of knowledge.
29. Brain dump.
A brain dump is writing down everything that’s on your mind, even if it doesn’t make sense, it’s crazy, or it’s mean. The technique is a way of releasing thoughts, especially those that are negative, so you can sleep better and improve your focus. The best time for a brain dump is before going to bed.
30. Save money.
There are many different ways of saving money. You could save a dollar a day or transfer 20% of your income to a savings account. Choosing to brew a cup of coffee from home instead of buying it at a coffee shop is another way of saving, though an indirect method.
31. Manage finances.
Managing your finances is one of those habits that isn’t optional for anyone who wants to live a good life. You need to avoid living to paycheck to paycheck or falling into debt. Developing the habit of managing your finances helps prevent money problems.
32. Wash face 2x per day.
It’s recommended that you wash your face two times per day to prevent acne and other skin problems.
33. Go through bookmarks.
Over time, your bookmarks can become cluttered, especially if you don’t save them in the correct folder. Get into the habit of spending a little time organizing and going through your bookmarks.
34. Yoga.
Doing yoga regularly helps prevent aches and pains as well as improve your mental health.
35. Green drink.
A green drink is full of vegetables to help you get the nutrients you need. You can buy them as powders that you mix with water. Or you can blend fresh veggies on your own.
36. Posture exercises.
Almost everyone needs to regularly do posture exercises because the world we live in often encourages poor posture. And it’s not just computer and mobile phone users that are in need. Sewing and other non-electronic hobbies can damage your posture.
37. Drive the speed limit.
Speeding tickets are expensive, so it’s good to develop the habit of always driving the speed limit.
38. Add spare change to a jar.
Prevent the problem of coins getting inside the washer and save money by dumping your spare change into a jar at the end of each day. Once the jar is full, deposit it into your savings account.
39. Morning smoothie.
Drinking a smoothie every morning is a healthy way to get an energy boost. It also helps you reach your daily intake of fruits.
40. Eat vegetables with dinner.
Getting into the habit of cooking vegetables with dinner helps you reach your daily vegetable intake. You will still need to eat more vegetables throughout the day or take green drink supplements, though.
41. Collect coupons.
Collecting coupons is an indirect way of saving money. For printed coupons, you should store them in an envelope or small box that you can easily take to the store with you.
42. Love yourself.
Ask yourself how much you love yourself on a scale of 1 to 10 with 10 being the highest. The goal is to learn to consistently love yourself at a 10. Just decide to love yourself every day and eventually you’ll get there.
43. Do something nice for someone.
If you want the world to be a better place, commit to doing something nice for someone each day. This could be complimenting a stranger or holding a door open for someone without expecting anything in return.
44. Mental health check.
Conducting mental health checks is helpful if you’re trying to become happier or overcome problems like depression and anxiety. It gives you greater clarity on potential patterns and triggers.
45. Learn something new.
Keep your brain stimulated by learning something new every day. Look up answers to questions you’ve always wondered about.
46. Don’t spend any money.
You may go through periods in which you want to cut back in spending. Add “don’t spend any money” to your tracker for the week or longer depending on your circumstances to save money.
47. Write to-dos for the next day.
One habit that some people find helpful for productivity is writing their to-do list for the next day before going to bed.
48. Play with the kids.
Parents can track various habits related to their children to be the best parent possible. An example is playing with your kid(s) each day.
49. Turn off cell phone during dinner.
In order to enjoy quality family time during dinner, you should turn off your cell phone during dinner.
50. Call a friend.
People communicate more effectively over the phone than through text messages. It’s great to get into the habit of regularly calling your friends.
51. Eat breakfast.
This one is for those who forget to eat breakfast or don’t eat breakfast. It’s important to take in some nutrients in the morning to have a productive day.
52. Pack lunch.
You can save money by bringing your own lunch to work. Remember to pack your lunch by tracking the habit in your planner. Also determine whether or not you need to pack it the night before. Some people are often rushed in the mornings, which is why they neglect packing lunch.
53. One load of laundry.
Dirty laundry quickly builds up before you know it. By getting into the habit of doing your laundry a load at a time throughout the week, it will feel less overwhelming.
54. Try something new.
Not only is it fun to try something new every day for a certain time period, it expands your mind and helps you grow as a person.
55. Practice speed reading.
A skill that’s helpful for everyone to learn is speed reading. It allows you to soak up more information faster.
56. Do something nice for your significant other.
If you have been in a long-term relationship and the passion has died down, commit to doing something nice for your significant other every day for a week. It can bring the intimacy back into the relationship.
57. Write a blog post.
If you have started a blog or you run a website, then publishing new content frequently is important for generating traffic.
58. Brain games.
There are hundreds of brain games you can play to exercise your brain, stay sharp, and decrease your chances of developing a memory disease/disorder.
59. Balance exercises.
As a person ages, their sense of balance declines. You can minimize or prevent decline in balance by regularly performing balance exercises.
60. Don’t hit the snooze button.
One way to make it easier to get up on time in the morning is to break your habit of hitting the snooze button. Be patient with yourself as you work on this one. With dedication and perseverance, you will succeed.
61. Turn off electronics 30 minutes before bed.
Studies have shown that using electronic devices like computers, smartphones, and TVs before bed interferes with sleep. You may have a difficult time falling asleep or you won’t rest well. Electronics should be turned off at least 30 minutes before bed.
62. Back up phone and computer data.
Set aside a few days a week to backup your phone and computer data.
63. Stretch.
Your muscles get tense and tighten throughout the day, whether caused by stress, activity, or repetitive motions. Don’t wait for your body to be in pain. Stretching on a daily basis can prevent muscle tightening from turning into pain. Maintaining good flexibility prevents injuries as well.
64. Tidy up work space.
Keeping a clean and organized work space improves your productivity and reduces stress.
65. Homework check.
Parents should check every evening that their children completed their homework, so they can get good grades.
66. Ask kids how their day was.
This keeps the line of communication open with your kids. If something bad happened, they may be more likely to tell you if you regularly ask them how their day was.
67. Hug your loved ones.
Can’t remember the last time you hugged someone? Add it to your habit tracker to get yourself into the habit of hugging those you love.
You have several ideas now that you can use in your planner‘s habit tracker. Maybe your new dilemma is which ones to do first. The Clever Fox Planner keeps the habit tracker at seven days, so you can change them on a weekly basis whenever needed. As long as you let your goals of the year and month guide you in choosing which habits to track, you won’t go wrong.
