Bullet journals help you boost productivity, visualize your progress on goals, and track essential items like moods or habits.
These versatile tools offer so much, but today we’re focusing on a specific aspect of bullet journaling: habit tracking.
Most bullet journal spreads related to health and wellness include habit trackers; visual charts that let you record your progress in developing a new habit.
Here’s how to make the best bullet journal habit tracker for your needs.
What’s a Bullet Journal Habit Tracker?
A bullet journal habit tracker is a chart in your bullet journal spread that helps you track your habits. It shows you at a glance whether you succeeded in doing what you set out to do and which practices you’ve slacked during the week (or month).
The best thing about habit trackers is that you can personalize them however you wish. You can track any habit, use any symbol for completion, or even give yourself points for partial credit.
Whatever works for you works best.
How Does a Habit Tracker Work?
Habit trackers work by forcing you to chart your accomplishments.
For example, say you want to track the days you’ve worked out. Your chart will have a column for working out and boxes for each day.
If you work out, you can put your “yes!” sticker in the day’s box. If you didn’t work out, you must either put your “fail” sticker in the box or leave it blank.
When the week is over, you can look back and see how many yes stickers you have for each habit you want to build, which will help you identify the areas you need to work on most.
How Do You Make a Bullet Journal Habit Tracker?
The first step to making a bullet journal habit tracker is deciding which habits you want to track and how long you want to track them.
You may want your habit tracker in a weekly spread, meaning you should account for seven days in your chart. Alternatively, you may want it to span the entire month, so you’d need to account for 30-ish days.
After you decide upon your habits and timeframes, you can draw your chart using the bullet journal’s laser dots to keep the lines straight.
But you don’t need to include it in your monthly or weekly spread. You could also make a full-page spread dedicated to all the habits you wish to track. Create mini habit trackers for each specific item you wish to track, or a large chart that tracks everything.
It’s up to you.
What Types of Things Can a Bullet Journal Habit Tracker Track?
Calling it a habit tracker is a bit of a misnomer. Habit trackers can track anything.
Here are some examples of things you can keep track of in your bullet journal habit tracker:
- Exercise
- Journaling
- Gratitude
- Sleep
- Healthy Eating
- Stretching
- Reading
- Meditation
- Drinking Water
- Flossing
- Chores
But a habit tracker can track more than the things you want to do. You can also use it to help break bad habits. For example, if you want to quit smoking, you can give yourself a happy sticker for each day you go without a cigarette.
Bullet journal trackers can be used for far more than habits. Use the same concept to track moods, feelings, health concerns, cycles, hobbies, and more.
The best thing about a bullet journal is that it can be anything you want.
Tracking Habits with a Habit Tracker
“How do I track habits…let me count the ways!”
It’s not a love sonnet, but there are still tons of ways to track habits with your bullet habit tracker.
On easy mode, it can be a simple yes or no. You can use check marks, a giant “X,” or different stickers to signify whether you achieved your daily goal.
Some habits have numerical values. To track how many hours you slept or how many glasses of water you drank, use a simple number or tally marks. You could also use a color code to represent different numerals or the yes/no dichotomy.
The only limit to how to track is your imagination.
Why Track Habits?
As they say, it takes 30 days to turn something into a habit. Incorporating healthy habits into your daily routine can improve your overall wellness.
Tracking your habits with a bullet journal helps you stay on top of both good and bad habits. It’s a method of holding yourself accountable for doing what you promised yourself you’d do, and as a bonus, it instills self-discipline.
Changing your habits isn’t easy. Habit trackers provide an extra tool to help you develop the healthy lifestyle you want.
Another reason to track your habits is that it helps you develop a routine that works well for you.
For example, if you want to add journaling to your daily ritual, you must decide when to set time aside. Try adding it to your morning routine for a week to see if you can stick to it. If, upon looking back at your tracker, you realize you fail more often than not, switch it up and journal before bed.
Tracking habits you want to develop helps you determine where they best fit your busy schedule.
Do I Need a Bullet Journal?
Bullet journals aren’t for everyone. Some find drawing their own charts overwhelming.
If that’s you, consider grabbing an all-in-one planner that offers space for habit tracking. The pre-built tracker is easy to use (and you don’t need to draw anything).
Of course, you can’t design a chart that works for you when you opt for the planner, but usually, they are general enough to work for most people.
If you want to design a unique chart that fits your life, you’ll need a bullet journal.
Bullet Journal Habit Tracker Ideas
Krakenimages.com via Shutterstock.com.
Need some inspiration for creating your habit tracker?
Here are a few ideas sourced from Pinterest and around the web, for inspiration.
Monthly Trackers
Check out this spread that tracks your habits on small little calendars:
For something even more straightforward, draw boxes for each habit and use one color to indicate whether you did it or not.
But there’s nothing wrong with the traditional master habit tracker, a full list of all the things you wish to track:
Tracking a Specific Habit
Is there one habit you really need to get better at? Consider dedicating an entire page to it. In this example, the user wants to build better sleep habits:
Here, the author wants to make reading a habit. One page lists the books, while the other tracks how many she’s read.
Creative Habit Trackers
You don’t need to stick to boxes, charts, and calendars. Get creative with your bullet journal habit tracker. Use different shapes and colors to represent the habit or showcase things you love.
This example shows a few different designs for tracking habits.
You could also make the design something that makes you happy. This user has a bee theme, and the habits are in honeycomb shapes.
Circle Habit Tracker
Squares are boring. Consider making your habit tracker circular instead.
Weekly Spreads with Habit Trackers
Some folks want to include their habit trackers in their bullet journal weekly spreads rather than dedicate a whole page.
Here are some ways pinners added a habit tracker to their week.
Monthly Spreads with Habit Trackers
Here’s some inspiration for how to add a habit tracker to your monthly spread.
What Do I Need To Make My Bullet Journal Habit Tracker?
The only thing you need to start tracking your habits with a bullet journal is your beloved journal and something to write with. You can track your habits in a simple chart with only a pen.
If you want it to pop more, consider using stickers, stamps, or colored pens in your chart, and using other decorative bullet journal supplies to enhance the visual appeal of your page.
Start Tracking Your Habits Today!
Is there a habit you wish you could start or one you want to you could break? A bullet journal habit tracker can help. Grab your beloved bujo and turn tracking habits into a habit!