As I sat at my desk staring at the blank screen in front of me, I knew I needed to make a change. My daily habits had become stagnant and unfulfilling, and I was feeling stuck in a rut. That's when I decided to take matters into my own hands and build a habit tracking tool in Google Sheets. It was a simple solution, but I knew it could make a big difference in my life. And as it turns out, I was right.
As the new year approaches, I have found myself reflecting on my daily habits and how they have been affecting my overall well-being. Are you also looking to make positive changes and improve your habits in the new year?
As a data-driven UX designer, I have become increasingly interested in the quantified self movement and the potential benefits of using technology and data to track and measure various aspects of one's life.
Keeping track of new year’s resolutions
I have spent much time in using special tools / mobile apps like Notion or Habitica in the past. You may as well have tried a variety of tools and apps already, only to find that they are either too much for simple yet custom use cases like that - or at some point you stopped tracking.
Simple & accessible to use
Since I kept on concluding that I would need all my habits, brief day reflections and mood tracking in one place, I decided to create a habit tracking tool in Google Sheets, which can help you stay on track and achieve your resolutions. With a simple, yet customisable interface, you can easily track your habits and goals on a daily or weekly basis.
Since it’s justou can set up own habits and goals such as daily exercise to daily meditation, and I can see my progress over time.
Interaction: Keyboard-first
As UX designers, it can be easy to focus on the visual aspects of a product or service, but it's important not to ignore the importance of keyboard interaction.
Using a keyboard as an input method is more efficient than using a mouse or other pointing device. This is because it requires less movement and effort to type, which can be especially useful for tasks such as form filling. When a mouse is needed to move focus between fields or select specific data options, it can slow down the process and increase the chances of frustration for the user. Overall, the keyboard can be a more efficient and user-friendly choice for input.
Since the template is based on Google Sheets, all the keys you need are
- Arrow-keys
- Enter
- Space-bar
List of features
- Daily habit tracking
- Mood tracking with emojis
- “Dayscription” - Reflect on your day in a few words
- Comparison year vs. last 7 days - helps you to see at which habits you are performing well with and which ones need some work
- Current day gets highlighted
- Dark mode
My interest in the quantified self movement deepened when I began using my own habit tracking tool on a regular basis. By tracking and analyzing data about my own habits and behaviors, I was able to gain a better understanding of myself and identify patterns that were impacting my health and well-being.
Overall, I'm really happy with the habit tracking template I’ve built in Google Sheets, since it is a simple yet effective tool. It's easy to use, customizable, and accessible, and it's helping me make progress towards my goals and live a healthier, more balanced life.
