Just switched from digital to paper habit tracking and it's actually working

I used to swear by my habit tracking app on my phone. I had it set up with reminders and everything, but I kept ignoring the notifications or marking stuff done when I didn't really do it. After about 3 months of that, my buddy at the climbing gym showed me his bullet journal setup with these simple checkboxes. He said something like 'if you have to physically pick up a pen and write it, you remember doing it way better.' So I picked up a $3 notebook from Target last week and started tracking my daily water intake and 20 minute stretch routine. The difference is wild. I actually look forward to checking off each item at the end of the day. Has anyone else found that going low tech on something made it stick better for you?

2 comments

2 Comments

sarahpatel29d ago

Started using a physical workout log instead of my fitness app and it totally changed things for me. Just having to grab a pen and write down my reps made me way more honest about actually finishing sets. Did you find the same thing with your water tracking, where you stop lying to yourself about what you actually did?

angela4329d ago

But doesn't that physical act of writing make you face the fact that you either did it or you didn't, like there's no hiding from the pen? I found with my water tracking that I'd fudge numbers in an app all day, like "oh I definitely had that third glass at lunch," but with a notebook I'm just standing there with a pen like, nope, I skipped it and I have to leave that box empty. Makes you wonder what else we're lying to ourselves about when it's too easy to tap a screen.