The Advantage of Habit Stars vs. Habit Trackers

When using Frankenlog, daily habits are tracked with a set of up to five symbols that – when completed – make a nifty little star to celebrate your awesomeness. So why are these habit stars better than habit trackers? (Okay, yes, I know… Habit stars are habit trackers. Get off my back!)

I’m currently in the midst of my best star day run ever. Granted, that’s only a run of four days (almost five!), but I’ve noticed that those stars contribute a little something extra to my efforts. You see, with regular trackers, I’m usually using just watching the progress of one habit at a time. Each habit is it’s own thing, unrelated to my other efforts. I mean, yeah, a lot of folks will use a full page tracker for several habits at once, and doing this allows them to see if they did all of them each day. So what’s the difference?

It’s hard to describe (can’t ya tell?), but making that star means more. All my daily habits are integrated with each other. They’re all a part of that star. I want that star. So if I’ve done two or three of my habits for the day, you can bet your BuJo I’m gonna finish those last two. The star causes momentum and motivation.

Without the star, maybe I finish four out of five for the day, so I give yourself a pass on that fifth one. “I’ve been good today, four outta five ain’t bad.” But nay! Not with star habits! Instead, I want that last habit. What a shame it would be to miss a star day by one habit! What a crime! I gotta do it!

When I made the daily habit tracker in Frankenlog, my only goal was to create a compact system that would somehow fit in a tiny calendar. I never intended star habits to become a motivational tool, but I’m ever so glad that they have. 🙂

What has your experience been with the star habits in Frankenlog? Have you been using them? Leave your comments below!

Thanks for swinging by.