I’ve been using wall-mounted habit trackers for years to inspire habit change. They’ve helped me: • Visualize my progress • Be prompted to act • Stay inspired to achieve my goal to change But…they have one gigantic problem that has ruined my attempts to change. I’ve used habit trackers to lose 40 lbs, abstain from drinking, build a meditation habit, and more. I’ve had habit-building streaks of 30, 60, and 90+ days. The problem is that even after these initial streaks, I’ve often fallen back into old patterns. For a long time this confused me. I’d think, “It’s been over 90 days, shouldn’t this habit be automatic by now? Why did I stop?” It took me a while before I realized exactly why I stopped: My perfectionism. The problem started when I’d inevitably miss a day. Habit trackers show missed days just as clearly as successful ones. When I’d miss a day, all I could see was failure. I hated those imperfect sheets. They reminded me of my own imperfection. After just one missed day I knew I’d soon stop doing my new habit completely. If you’ve ever faced this challenge, here are two things that have helped me: 1. Write something on the missed days that reminds you to be kind to yourself 2. Try a habit sheet without dates After a lot of work, I realized that being hard on myself wasn't helping me make progress. I wanted to treat myself the way I’d treat a friend if they missed a day. So I started experimenting with drawing fun things on the days that I missed. I tried goofy things like drawing smiley faces, but what really worked for me was drawing a heart. It served as a reminder to love myself even on the days that I missed. When my habit sheets started reminding me to be kind to myself, I had a much easier time continuing. I could miss a day and still keep going. If smiley faces or hearts aren’t your thing, there's an even easier approach: Remove the dates entirely. There's no need to track the days you miss—They aren't important. The important days are the days you perform your habit. That's progress. By focusing on your progress you gain a feeling of success. That's what will really keep your new habit going. Every day you perform your new habit is another brick in your wall of progress. Just like those bricks, your progress is still there if you step away or miss a day. If you're working on a new habit, try ignoring your missed days entirely. I've loved it and been much more successful as a result. By the way, I'm creating a habit change toolkit that I'll be releasing in a few months. If you sign up for my newsletter, you’ll know when I release it. #habittracker #habits #atomichabits #personaldevelopment #selfimprovement #productivity
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