Free template. Most of these ideas fit Track Anything, a free habit tracker for Google Sheets. Copy it free at bettersheets.co/habits.
The hard part of a habit tracker isn’t the tracker. It’s picking what goes in it. Pick ten things and you’ll stop by day four. Pick one that doesn’t matter and you’ll stop by day two.
Here are habit tracker ideas sorted by the kind of tracker they need, because that’s what decides whether you keep going. A yes or no habit wants one click a day. A habit you’re quitting wants a streak. A habit that’s really a number wants a number.
TL;DR
- Yes or no habits (did I do it today?): one click a day in Track Anything.
- Habits to break: count the clean days and chase a streak in Dark Habits.
- Habits that are numbers (words, pounds, pages): log the number, not a tick.
- Start with one. Add a second only when the first one is boring.
Yes or no habits: one click a day
Track Anything: one click a day fills in today’s square.
If the honest answer each night is yes or no, you only need one box. These all fit:
Body
- Work out
- Do yoga
- Walk 10,000 steps
- Stretch for 10 minutes
- Drink 8 glasses of water
- Be in bed by 11
- Take your medication
- Take your vitamins
Mind
- Meditate
- Read for 10 minutes
- Write a journal entry
- No phone for the first hour of the day
- Spend time outside
Work and craft
- Write every day
- Practice an instrument
- Do one lesson of a language app
- Ship one small thing
- Clear your inbox
Home and people
- Make your bed
- Cook dinner instead of ordering
- Call or text someone you care about
- Tidy one room
Medication is the one people don’t expect. “Did I take it today?” is a hard question at 9pm. With a grid you check instead of guessing.
Habits to break: count the clean days
Dark Habits: a streak bar for each habit you’re stopping.
Quitting needs a different tracker. You count the days you didn’t, and you want to see a streak grow toward a goal. I built Dark Habits for this after a streak tracker helped me stop drinking.
- Alcohol
- Soda
- Coffee after noon
- Fried food
- Gambling
- Biting your nails
- Smoking
Two or three at a time is plenty. Here’s how to track a streak in Google Sheets, tab by tab.
Habits that are really numbers
Some habits aren’t yes or no. “Write every day” is yes or no; “write 500 words a day” is a number. For these, log the number and let the sheet work out the streak.
- Words written. My daily writer’s word count tracker keeps a writer writing.
Weight, pages read and miles run work the same way. The ultimate weight tracker sets the goal for you and counts your streaks.
Make it visual
The growing plant progress chart: tick more boxes, the plant grows.
A habit you can see is a habit you keep. Track Anything uses a GitHub-style grid. Another way: a plant that grows as you tick off the day’s tasks. That’s the growing plant progress chart, built from checkboxes and IMAGE.
How to pick
- Start with one. The one you’d be proudest of in 30 days.
- Make it small enough to do on a bad day. “Read 10 minutes”, not “read a book a week”.
- Make it yes or no if you can. One click beats typing a number.
- Write the rule down. Does a walk count as a workout? Decide once, in the sheet’s notes.
Common pitfalls
- Ten habits on day one. You’ll miss three on day two and feel like you failed at all ten.
- Vague habits. “Be healthier” can’t be ticked. “No soda today” can.
- Tracking where you won’t look. Put the sheet on your phone’s home screen or pin the tab.
Get the sheets
- Track Anything: free, one click a day, for yes or no habits.
- Dark Habits: $10 (free for lifetime members), streaks for habits you’re quitting. On the habits page.
Want to build your own? How to make a habit tracker in Google Sheets walks through Track Anything step by step.
FAQ
What should I put in my habit tracker? One to three habits you can answer with yes or no every day. Add more once the first ones are easy.
How many habits should I track? Start with one. Three is a lot. More than five and the tracker becomes the habit.
What’s a good habit tracker for bad habits? One that counts clean days and shows a streak toward a goal. Dark Habits uses 14 days.
Is there a free habit tracker template? Yes. Track Anything is free for Google Sheets: bettersheets.co/habits.
