XP TRACKERThe best habits to track
Track habits you do often, that have a clear yes or no, and that are in your control on the day. Drinking water, a 10-minute walk, reading, going to bed on time and a daily plan are good examples. Results such as weight or income are better checked weekly or monthly, not ticked off every day.
Short answer: The best habits to track are ones you do often (daily or a few times a week), with a clear finish line (8 glasses, 10 pages, lights out by 23:00) and in your control on the day. Track three to five of these, such as water, movement, reading, bedtime and a daily plan. Leave outcomes like weight, savings or mood for a weekly or monthly check instead.
A 3-question test for any habit
Before a habit goes on your tracker, ask:
- Will I do it at least three times a week? Rare actions, like a dentist visit, belong in a calendar, not a tracker.
- Can I tell, without thinking, whether I did it? "Eat healthier" fails. "Vegetables with dinner" passes.
- Is it in my control today? "Lose 1 kg this week" depends on many things. "Walk 20 minutes" depends on you.
If a habit fails a question, rewrite it until it passes. "Get fit" becomes "train 15 minutes, 4 days a week". "Be more social" becomes "message one friend a day".
Track the action, check the result
Results matter, but they move slowly and swing for reasons outside your control. If you tick "lost weight" daily, you will have bad days you didn't earn. Track the daily actions that lead to the result, and look at the result itself once a week or once a month. That way your tracker rewards what you did, and the bigger number tells you whether the actions are working.
30 habits worth tracking, by type
Different habits need different ways to count. Pick the format that fits.
| How you count it | Examples |
|---|---|
| Yes or no | Make your bed, floss, take your medication, plan your day, gratitude list, skincare, vitamins, do the dishes |
| A number | Glasses of water, pages read, job applications sent, push-ups, servings of vegetables |
| Minutes | Workout, deep focus, meditation, stretching, language practice, instrument practice, side project |
| Steps or distance | Daily steps, a weekly long walk |
| A limit you stay under | Screen time, gaming time, no caffeine after noon, no alcohol on weekdays, no social media before noon |
| A time of day | Lights out by 23:00, up by 7:00, phone off at 22:00 |
A single tracker can mix formats. A paper grid works for yes or no; write the number in the box for counts and minutes.
Daily, weekly or monthly?
Not every good habit belongs on a daily grid. Match the tracking rhythm to the habit:
- Daily: habits you want to happen every day, like water, medication, a bedtime or a short walk. They get the most repetitions, and repetition is what makes a habit automatic.
- A few times a week: workouts, cooking at home, a language lesson. Track them on a daily grid but set a weekly target, such as 4 of 7, so a rest day isn't a miss.
- Weekly: laundry, a long walk, a call with family, a weekly plan. One row with seven columns wastes space; a short list of weekly boxes works better.
- Monthly: decluttering, backing up your phone, a money review. A calendar note or a monthly checklist is enough.
Mixing rhythms keeps the daily grid short and honest. You see at a glance what today needs, and the weekly and monthly habits don't leave rows of empty boxes.
Sample trackers for different goals
Here are four tracker lists with realistic targets. Pick one as a starting point and change it to fit your life.
| Goal | Habits to track |
|---|---|
| More energy | Lights out by 23:00 · 6 glasses of water · 15-minute walk · no caffeine after noon |
| Get fit | Train 20 minutes, 4 days a week · 7,000 steps · stretch 3 minutes · protein with lunch |
| Study or work focus | Plan 3 tasks · 2 focus blocks of 25 minutes · phone in another room while working · shutdown at 18:00 |
| Calmer days | Meditate 5 minutes · 3 lines of journaling · 10 minutes outside · message one person |
The targets are examples. Set your own, and start lower than you think you need to. A target you hit five days out of seven teaches you more than one you hit twice.
What not to track
- Vague intentions. "Be positive", "eat better", "be productive". You can't tick them honestly.
- Things that happen once a month. They leave 29 empty boxes. Use a calendar reminder.
- Every habit you already have. Brushing your teeth doesn't need a box unless you're building it.
- Numbers that make you anxious. If logging your weight or calories every day makes you feel worse, stop. Some people do better tracking only the actions, such as "vegetables with dinner".
For ways to lay out the tracker itself, see how to track habits or make a grid with the habit tracker generator.
Common mistakes
- Tracking 15 habits in week one. The grid fills with gaps and starts to feel like a report card. Start with three to five.
- Targets set for your best day. Set the target for an ordinary Tuesday, with a smaller version for bad days.
- Logging at the end of the week from memory. You'll forget and guess. Tick it right after you do it, or at one fixed time each evening.
- Never removing anything. Once a habit has run on its own for two months or so, drop it from the list and make room for a new one.
What the research says, carefully
Tracking makes progress visible, and habit researchers point to repetition in a stable context as what builds a habit. Lally and colleagues (2010) found new daily habits took 18 to 254 days to feel automatic, with a median of 66, and that missing a single day did not materially affect the process. That supports a tracker that shows your overall pattern, so one empty box doesn't feel like failure. Gamification, such as points and levels for tracked habits, has a mixed but mostly positive record: Hamari, Koivisto and Sarsa (2014) reviewed the studies and found effects depended on the context and on the people using it.
What to do today
- Write down every habit you'd like to track. Run each through the 3-question test.
- Keep the three to five that pass and matter most. Write a target and a bad-day version for each.
- Draw a grid on paper or print one, and tick the first box tonight.
If you'd rather track in an app, XP Tracker counts these formats for you: timer quests for minutes, counters for things like water and job applications, a Walk quest that reads Apple Health or Health Connect, end-of-day check-ins for habits like no social media, and screen-time and gaming limits you set yourself. Each quest keeps its own streak. See how it works.
Questions people ask
What habits should I put in my habit tracker?
Two to five habits you want to do daily or several times a week, each with a clear finish line. Good starters are drinking water, a short walk or workout, reading a few pages, a set bedtime and a two-minute daily plan. Add more once those feel routine.
How many habits should I track at once?
Most people do well with three to five. Tracking 15 habits turns the tracker into a chore and the empty boxes into a reason to quit. See how many habits to build at once.
Should I track habits I already do?
One or two is fine, because easy ticks keep you opening the tracker. Don't fill it with them, though. Once a habit runs on its own for a couple of months, you can drop it from the list.
Should I track bad habits?
Yes, if you track the good side of them. "No social media before noon" or "phone out of the bedroom" works better than counting slips, because you collect wins instead of a list of failures.
What are good habits to track for mental health?
Habits many people find steadying are a regular bedtime, time outside, a short walk, a few lines of journaling and contact with one person a day. They support how you feel; they are not treatment. If your mood is low for weeks, talk to a doctor.
Related pages
Start your journey
Pick a class, do the day's quests, and watch your hero level up with you.
Start free on iPhone and Android.
Scan to install Point your phone camera at the code. iPhone opens the App Store, Android opens Google Play.