I need more organization that is simple & saves time so I created a moveable Habit Tracker for my planners. This month the Eileen Hull Inspiration Team are getting organized! I have been seeing Habit Trackers everywhere & to be honest I just really wanted to join in the "color in the box" craze!! However there are also some habits I want to change, or track, & some I want to re-enforce. Habit Tracking seems a perfect way to do that. Life gets so busy I can't remember if I flossed 2 days or 2 weeks ago.
I created these simple to duplicate trackers that fit right into my existing planners but move easily each week so I have a good view of how I am doing. I did not want this to become another to do list that creates clutter & seems unattainable. I also love washi tape & don't use enough of my massive stash so win, win. If I actually also create better habits- bonus round!
I currently have 3 planners.
1: The family planner that everybody living in the house, schedules go into. I also have my things to do that pertain to regular life like, call Mom.... or important dates for my College kids. Bill payment due dates go into this too. This sits open in the kitchen & I look at it about 1000 times a day.
2: My Art & business agenda. Just what it implies, my class design, design team schedule, deadlines, social media due dates etc. My classes & crops also go in here which is duplicated in the house planner but for this planner it is more about prepping for and blocking out time that can't be spent in my "Hideous Monstrosity" (yes that is what my studio is right now) working on projects. This gives me a more realistic deadline time. I have this agenda by my computer & look at it about 500 times a day. I sometimes paint & do wipe off stamps in this to add color & fun but it is mainly functional.
3. My least used is my fitness journal. Mainly as I only put my workouts & current health goals in here. Occasionally I track food if I am working on my allergy issues.
What I did not want out of a habit tracker was to take my non-existent free time & clutter it up further or have a system that was not sustainable. I did not want to have to write out my tracker over & over but I did want something I could add color to & some design. I was an athlete in earlier days so I think a system like this could really make me stay on track. I am fairly goal oriented & am hoping the color in the box will act as a reward & help motivate me. Cause as an artist color in the box with color pencils, or markers or water color...fun times.
Let's Make Habit Tracker Pages!
I have been using a Becky Higgins philosophy for awhile now "start with the goal in mind". I tend to take easy things & make them complicated. This is a habit I am changing because who has time for that? I started my tracker by hand writing on graph paper. Super easy & took no time at all. I blocked off space for my washi binding system & made 1 month fit on 1 page. There is space to write in the name of the month. I copied this 3x. I left some space on
the bottom to add if I need to, but I thought 3 months was a good amount
of time to start. Remember I am trying to "keep it simple superstar"
(KISS principle). If I want to tweak it I can for the future but I will not have to for the next while.
I did learn that the graph paper portion really doesn't transfer well. I simply cut out and pasted the missing graph portion. I will know for the next template that will need to be drawn in or the list portion needs to be cut & pasted. Now for the fun part. I added some washi tape to the sides, stamped the month. I have room to further decorate if I want to.
Let's Cut Some Holes
Using Eileen's Book Binding die on the mover's & shaker base plate I placed the die on top of the backside of my paper to hold it in place. It is magnetized and holds quite firmly.
I folded my paper over & used other magnets to hold the paper down in position. You need to be careful to cover these free magnets with a cutting pad so they don't get sucked up into your cutting machine. In this photo you can see how I simply shift the die cut further down the page lining it up with just the top binding hole so the cutting is evenly spaced.
Carefully place the cutting pad on top, making sure the paper stays lined up with the die. Run through your machine. Vagabond, Big Shot are just a few that work with this die.
Now my Habit Tracker page is easily inserted into my agenda all ready for April. I can't wait to start coloring the little boxes!! Each week I can easily move this page into the next week. Now to make one for my Art & Business Agenda! I hope you hop over to Eileen's blog to see what other organizing inspiration the team has for you!!
