tracking habits in notion

Sep 13

adhd self care habit tracker

today we’re talking about how most habit trackers in Notion haven’t worked for me so i set up something different that does!

in this video, i go over:

why checklists don’t work

my habit tracker origin story
database calendar view
habit tracker properties
workout dashboard example
how i use this tracker
weekly review example
images that spark joy
habit tracker template

checklists don’t work

typically, i’ve seen people set up habit trackers to look like a little checklist of things to mark off on each day. yes, it’s fun to check things off, but that always left me feeling overwhelmed and like i wasn’t doing a good enough job.

i was overwhelmed because i didn’t know which few habits to pick to put on the list.

i have adhd. i’m also a manifesting generator in human design. aka i like to do a bunch of different things. and i need to feel like i have the freedom to switch things up when i’m feeling stale, bored, or like i need to or want to try new or different things. i focus a lot on self care and i have a large list of different resources and activities i could do at any given time.

so i felt limited with the checklist. because what do i do if i wanted to track something else that’s not on my checklist?! where do i put that? i couldn’t make it make sense for my brain.

and i also felt like i wasn’t doing a good enough job at my habits… because i’d end up with a list of a bunch of things and a lot of the check boxes would be empty. even though i was doing a lot to take care of myself. it was like those empty white boxes negated everything i was doing. seeing all those empty boxes doesn’t make me feel good.

another thing is that i like to see what i’ve done over time. and if i gave myself a curated checklist with only a few habits on it, and then changed that checklist as i changed my habits, i’d lose out on the ability to track my habits over time in a way that makes sense for my brain.

so i went about tracking my habits in a different way!

habit tracker origin story

and funny enough, i did not set out to create a habit tracker. this process started in january 2021 specifically to start tracking the things my partner and i do together throughout the month, which we review in our monthly relationship check-ins. if you’re interested, we use the RADAR format from multiamory, which you can check out more about on their website: https://www.multiamory.com/radar

and then later that year in august, i realized this database would also be a great place for me to track my personal self care habits. so i started adapting it to have properties that would allow me to do both.

i like tracking both the things i do with my partner and the things i do solo, all in one place - it makes it really easy for my brain.

how i use this habit tracker

my favorite way to view this Notion database is the calendar.
i have database templates set up for my most frequent habits aka self care or other fun things i want to keep track of that i do that enrich my life. the templates make it really easy to track my habits with one click.
i like to use these templates with cute corresponding emojis so my brain can see at a quick glance and know what the activity was.

i utilize emojis in this way for visual categorization across my whole notion workspace, and if you wanna see a lil more in depth into that process, check out my video “how i use emojis in notion to help keep my adhd brain organized & focused”

i utilize a multi-select property to keep track of if it’s something i did solo or something my partner and i do together. this enables me to keep things separate when reviewing habits later on. i have a filtered database in my weekly reviews that just shows me my solo habits. and during our RADARs, i have it filtered so my partner & i just see everything we’ve done together.
in january 2023, i added another multi-select property to say what category the habit is, so i can easily filter and see specific types of habits if i’m trying to track something in particular. some of these categories are movement/exercise, specific types of exercise, creative ventures, food, watching shows, etc.

for example, this comes in handy on my shred dash - which is my workout dashboard where i have a calendar view filtered to only show my solo exercising habits.

and if you’re interested in a workout dashboard, i am working on a template - so keep your eyes open for that to drop! 💪

most recently in may 2024, i started tracking a text property named “what i enjoyed,” where i can write down a lil snippet of my fav part of the activity! this helps to be more present in the activity, noticing what i’m enjoying, and then documenting it so i’m able to tap back into that joy easier later when i review it!

inputting & reviewing habits

the way that i use this habit tracker is that i input habits in via my iphone and then i review them later on in the desktop app.

for inputting: i use the notion widget on my phone so it’s super quick and easy to access. from there, i tap on today’s date which automatically fills out the date property so it’s one less thing i have to do, and then i scroll through and pick my habit from my list of templates that already has all the other corresponding properties filled in as well. if what i’m tracking is something different than any of my templates, it’s easy enough to just add a new one in. and if that new thing becomes a regular habit, i’ll make a new template for it!

for reviewing: the phone calendar view isn’t good for reviewing since it just looks like a bunch of dots. so doing reviews on the desktop app is important. that way i can see the emoji and the name of what i did, and any other relevant properties i wanna see - depending on which review i’m doing, my solo reviews or reviews with my partner.

choosing images for joy & motivation

i also chose a database cover image that i think is funny and ridiculous and brings me a lot of joy. i’d highly recommend choosing something that helps you tap into those vibes and helps you feel excited and motivated to stick with your habits. because that’s gonna help make it easier for you to do them and to track them, when you’re seeing something like that.

habit tracker notion template

i turned my habit tracker into a template for you!

✔️ a habit tracker for when checking off checkboxes just ain’t cuttin it

🤦 if you’re feeling down on yourself cuz you can’t stick with new habits and all the empty checkboxes are making you feel empty -

try this habit tracker!

🎢 it also doubles as a fun log - keep track of ALL the fun stuff you do in your life - not just your typical self-care habits

🙌 so you can see the holistic picture of all the amazing things you do that enrich your life

main features:

✔️ habit tracker/fun log database

🗓️ view it on a weekly or monthly calendar

😎 with fun emojis that help your brain recognize the habit at a quick glance

🧘 includes templates for easy input - that can be customized to the activities you do the most

uplevel this dash:

🤳 i recommend using the notion phone widget for quick and easy habit inputting in the moment

🎉 and then integrating the database into your weekly/monthly reviews on desktop so you can relive all the joy and celebrate your self-care accomplishments

🧠🌶️ this dashboard is made for neurodivergent folx by a fellow adhd human 👋 who just couldn't make other habit trackers work. this one has been so successful - i've been using it since 2021! 💪

start tracking your habits

i’d love to hear how you track your habits, what you’ve found that works and doesn’t work for your brain. lmk in the comments on the video.

as always, thanks for being here and thanks for subscribing to my YouTube channel and i’ll see ya in the next one.