The Life Mastery Program could not exist without the daily tracking sheet.
Daily Tracking allows you to track all of your habits that are most important to you and allows you to visually see how you are progressing throughout the months and years.
To develop habits, things that we want to do on a daily, weekly or monthly basis, there is no better system for self-accountability, tracking and measuring than tracking sheets. Tracking sheets do the following:
- They keep you honest with yourself. When you track your activity you can see exactly how you are doing and there is no fooling yourself.
- They provide motivation and accountability. Knowing that you have to mark your chart at the end of the day can be enough to take action when you are tempted not to.
Tips for Daily Tracking Sheets
- Write the item you wish to track as if it already is currently a fact, i.e., I read 15 minutes or I workout daily rather than I will read 15 minutes or I want to exercise daily. You can also simply write, read 15 min or even read or exercise as long as you know precisely what that means.
- Be very clear about what qualifies as a completed for each item.
- Use a check mark to mark things you have completed. When a certain item is not required that day use an X. If your plan is to only work out on week days then you get an X on Saturdays and Sundays. If your intention is to do a certain thing, and you neglect to do it, leave the box blank. This is very important. Our brain, or perhaps it’s our ego, hates that empty box, but it also likes the feeling of checking something off.
- Mark it every day. You can make marking your tracking sheet a tracking sheet item, I mark my tracking sheet daily. Checking the items off as you do them is best but definitely check your tracking sheet before you go to bed. It might inspire you to do something you might not otherwise.
- You can also track weekly and monthly goals. If you use the tracking sheets free to you at LifeMasteryInfo.com you will see a place for weekly goals and monthly goals.
When you look at the things you have planned for yourself you should feel somewhere between excited and overwhelmed. If at the end of the month every box is checked it is time to add things or up your game in some of the items you currently have. If you are frequently falling short reduce the intensity of some items or put them aside for now.
Tracking is a great tool to teach your children. Do not use bribery or rewards for your children or for yourself, for meeting goals or completing a tracking sheet. Outside motivation won’t work long term because when there is no longer a carrot there is no longer incentive. Teach them to value the satisfaction of accomplishment over external reward.