Transforming your life isn’t easy, but tracking your habits is a good first step to get the ball rolling. After all, good habits, which can drastically improve your life, take months, nay, years to become part of your daily routine.

Not convinced? Here’s why tracking your habits can change your life.

#1. It pushes you to act on your habit

The easiest way to start tracking your habits is with a physical monthly calendar.

For every day that you successfully complete a habit such as drinking 2 litres of water, draw a big X on the calendar. Once you get the momentum going, you'll notice a series of Xs — this is your streak, and you want it to continue!

Seeing a row of Xs will push you to continue your good habit while a blank space will remind you that you haven’t ticked off your habit for the day.

#2. It motivates you to continue

Motivation can take many forms, but the most effective one is the simplest — progress.

When you see evidence that you're positively moving forward, your motivation surges and you're determined to continue working towards your goal. In fact, hitting your goals almost becomes an addiction, which adds to the motivation factor!

Seeing visual proof of your hours of hard work will also give you a much-needed jolt to keep the streak going when you're having a bad day. No matter what happens, power through your streak!

#3. It gives you a sense of accomplishment

You know that exhilarating feeling when you cross an item off your to-do list? Imagine having that same rush and satisfaction every time you complete a habit.

It may not seem much at first, but these small wins every day can ultimately translate to more enduring habits, which is the goal of habit tracking. Rock-hard abs may come and go, but your inner drive is what will fan your motivation for the rest of your lifetime.

#4. It forces you to be honest with yourself

While you may believe you're doing your very best and scoff at the idea of habit tracking, the truth may surprise you. Sometimes, what you believe you’re doing and what you're actually doing may not match up.

How does this happen?

Well, there's a chance that we overestimate what we have accomplished in order to make us feel better about what we're doing. For instance, you may think that you’re “always” eating healthily when the stark reality is that you’re munching on junk food at least once a day. Tracking your habits is the mirror you need, and the difficult truth is always preferable to gentle white lies.

#5. It promotes success

You read that right; good habits promotes success!

By doing things that are good and healthy for you, this invites good vibes and opportunities that further improve your quality of life. Long-term behaviour is also part of the deal, and you'll be grateful that you fostered these good habits simply by tracking them.

What habits should you track?

Now that you know why it’s important to track your habits, you may be wondering what exactly you should track. It’s pretty simple!

Think of habits you want to do regularly. It could be health and fitness habits (e.g. exercise log, water consumption, no sugar), productivity habits (e.g. daily revision, completing homework, progressing on your assignments) or even self-care habits (e.g. meditation, gratitude log).

How can you track your habits?

You can track your habits any way you like!

Keep things old-school with a red pen and calendar. Or, you can download apps such as Momentum (iOS), Habitica (iOS, Android) or StickK (iOS, Android) and log your habits digitally.

We hope that you are now feeling motivated to smash through your habits one day at a time. And if you ever feel like skipping a day, just remember that it’s okay, but remember to get back on the horse and continue developing good habits.

Want to reap the benefits of being successful? These study habits will help you score As!