Atomic Habits is full of practical advice on how you can change your environment to build good habits and break bad ones. I enjoyed reading it. On Chapter 16 - How to Stick with Good Habits Every Day James explains how to keep your habits on track using a simple habit tracker.

A habit tracker is a simple way to measure whether one did a habit, by crossing off each day on a calendar.

I created a habit tracker on my own. I took a printout, wrote the habits I wanted to track, kept it in a place where I frequently visit - TV shelf where I used to keep my mobile too.

I started with small habits, habits that took less than 10 mins - read one page of Atomic Habits, take 10 long breaths, evening walk, brush before you go to bed. I was more specific on the habits I wanted to build. I didn't write "Exercise" but "do 5 pushups 5 lunges 5 squats".

I put ticks on my tracker whenever I finished a habit. I did it for a month and was feeling good about the progress I made. I gradually increased the habits if see a good number of ticks. I also went back to the minimal version if it didn't go well.

It's been almost a year since I started doing this, my daily routines have changed a lot, I've reduced my screen time (using social media, watching TV / YouTube) by a fair amount. I realized I have a plenty of time to work on my fitness, learn something new, have fun with my family.

2023 was a great year. Buying Atomic Habits was the one of the best decisions I ever made.

The complete habit tracker template: HabitTracker.pdf