Don’t Let This Be Yet Another Year Gone By

Use this simple yet incredibly powerful tool to improve your chances of success with the goals that mean a lot to you

Today marks three weeks into the New Year, which means statistically it is around the time most of us will give up on our goals for the New Year. However, if you have goals that mean a lot to you and you really want to succeed this year, you can use this time instead as an opportunity to improve your chances of success by using a simple yet incredibly powerful tool: a tracker.

Tracker. Photo by Nadia 🌤. 2021.

On the surface, a tracker is a simple chart which keeps a record of whether and how much of something you did on a particular day.

Trackers come in many shapes and forms. Some people like using dot journals to draw their own trackers for different purposes. Others like using apps that keep records of activities completed and measurements taken. I personally enjoy using a combination of sticker charts (who doesn’t love stickers!), a paper calendar grid (pictured above), and a few apps.

Which tracker(s) you use will depend on what you are measuring and what you find most convenient to use. Whatever you pick, in order for the tracker to work you need to fill it out daily, either as each activity is completed or by the end of the day.

What should you track?

Making the most out of a tracker begins with tracking the right activities. Start by looking at your list of goals or resolutions for the year. What are you hoping to accomplish? For example, your resolution might be to improve your health. Starting with that, your next step is to identify your sub-goals by being more specific — for example, lose weight, become stronger, and manage stress.

Once you have identified your sub-goals, make a list of activities that, if done consistently, should result in you achieving your sub-goals. Keeping with our example of improving health, we can arrive at the following activities:

• improve health → lose weight → cooking at home and walking
• improve health → become stronger → strength training
• improve health → manage stress → practicing yoga

In other words, cooking at home and walking regularly should help foster weight loss; strength training regularly should help with becoming stronger; and practicing yoga regularly should help with managing stress.

These activities are what will then go on the tracker.

Note how the focus with these activities is not on tracking results, i.e. the number of pounds lost, but on the processes that, when done regularly, add up to improvements in health (weight loss, increased strength, and stress management).

As each activity is completed for the day, put a check mark or a sticker, or colour the space in your tracker, to indicate it was done. You can also write a specific number like the number of minutes you walked.

I am tracking, now what?

Once you have tracked diligently for a few weeks, this is when the real magic happens.

Photo by Cristian Escobar on Unsplash

The power of a tracker lies not in simply recording what you have done but in analyzing what you can learn from the data you have put into your tracker. Three weeks should give you a solid amount of information to work with. Some trackers conveniently use your data to generate a graph, which allows you to see trends, ups and downs, and a picture of your overall journey. Use the data you have in the following ways.

Notice what is working well. What have you been consistently able to check off and complete from your activity list? Ask yourself why this activity has been easy for you to complete. Can you apply your wisdom from this successful activity for other activities you are struggling with? For the future, if you continue performing at the level you have been with this activity, will you see the change you wish to see or do you need to up your game and increase the challenge? Remember to celebrate and feel proud of your consistent efforts thus far!

Next, ask yourself, is this the right activity to be tracking? In other words, now that you have done this activity for a few weeks, has it helped you make progress towards your sub-goal? For example, cooking at home likely means you’ve saved money on eating out and you are likely eating healthier, but has it helped you lose weight since that was the purpose of choosing to cook at home? If not, what needs to be tweaked with this activity? For example, instead of just cooking at home, maybe the activity needs to be modified to include portioning your home-cooked meals.

Finally, look at those activities that haven’t gotten many (or any) check marks or stars. What’s getting in the way? Do you lack a dedicated space to practice yoga? Are your expectations really high? Can you allow yourself to do the bare minimum on some days (see below for an example on how to do that)? Can you pair activities that you are struggling with doing with those that are easy to do? For example, if you have been having success with making a healthy breakfast each morning but have been struggling with doing yoga regularly, you can decide to set a timer for one minute to practice yogic breathing just before you make your breakfast.

Once you have reviewed your data, create a new and updated tracker that suits your needs more. While using your tracker, don’t be afraid to take notes and write quick explanations in the margins as you track (example: woke up late, too tired). This will further aid your analysis.

Three things that will help with success

1. Having a tracker in itself, especially a paper tracker that is easily visible (I keep mine in my living room), will push you to complete certain activities simply to get a check mark or sticker. Your brain feels rewarded when you are able to mark an item as completed on your tracker.
2. Allowing yourself to do the bare minimum on your worst days when you have limited energy, time, and ability is essential. For example, if your goal is to walk, then allow yourself to walk for 5 minutes within your own house if you just aren’t up for a long walk outside. While those five minutes may not feel like much, they are really important because they will help you reinforce your habit and help you be ready to go out for your walk the next day. Decide on your bare minimum for each of your activities in advance.
3. Removing barriers and preparing the things you’ll need in order to complete your activity will set you up for success. Get your shoes and clothes ready for your walk (clean them and keep an extra set for the next day, if that’s your barrier), keep your yoga mat ready and clear out a space for your practice (allow yourself 1 minute of breathing if “doing a whole session” is your barrier; let yourself do chair yoga if space is the barrier), and get your containers ready for portioning your meals and snacks (buy containers, if not having any is your barrier). Take a day or two to plan and prepare for success.

Summary

• Make a list of your goals and resolutions for the year.
• Make a list of sub-goals for those goals and resolutions.
• Make a list of activities that, when done consistently, will help you make strides with your sub-goals.
• List these activities on your tracker.
• Track for at least 3 weeks.
• Analyze your results and see what’s working well, what you are struggling with, and whether you are tracking the right activities.
• Apply the lessons from your reflection and modify your tracker as needed.
• Continue persisting, tracking, and progressing!
• Repeat after a few weeks.

Happy tracking!

This link will take you to my in-depth article on How to increase your chances of success with your New Year’s Resolutions.