That comment about my habit trackers being too detailed made me simplify everything

Someone in the online group I'm in said my monthly habit tracker had 30 rows and looked like a spreadsheet from work. They suggested I cut it down to just 3 things I actually wanted to build. After trying it for 2 months now I track water, steps, and reading and nothing else. Has anyone else had someone point out something obvious that improved your whole system?

3 comments

3 Comments

the_sam13d ago

The faith situation you described is wild because it shows how different brains need different amounts of stimulus to get stuff done. I've noticed this same pattern with people and their morning routines. Some folks need a five step ritual with a specific order or they fall apart, while others just need coffee and they're good. It's like how some people can't focus with music on and others need headphones blasting to get anything done. Your minimal system clicked because you needed less noise, but the faith needed that wall of reminders to keep everything from slipping through the cracks. The real trick is figuring out which kind of brain you have, not which method sounds smarter.

the_faith21d ago

Hang on, I'm gonna be the annoying one here and say that cutting down to 3 things actually made me worse off. I tried that whole minimal habit tracker advice and ended up forgetting to drink water because it wasn't in my face with the rest of my stuff. My 30-row spreadsheet might look crazy but it reminded me to floss, take my vitamins, and do my stretches every single day for 6 months straight. When I dropped down to just 3 rows I stopped doing half of those things because they weren't staring me in the face. Sometimes more is literally more if your brain needs that constant visual nudge.

ellis.susan21d ago

Oh man, I totally get this. I was always in the "less is more" camp for habit tracking (you know, the whole Marie Kondo your to-do list thing) but you actually made me rethink it. Maybe my brain needs that visual clutter to actually remember things exist - like out of sight, out of mind is way too real for me.