Have You Tried The Consistency Calendar?

If I asked you to take a guess about how consistent you are with your good habits and how often you give in to your bad habits, how accurate do you think you’d be?

Well, In general, we’re pretty bad at estimating these things, even though we think we’re quite on point.

A good proof of this is Facebook flashbacks – You know, when Facebooks shows you a picture you posted and you’d swear it was not long ago, just to find out it was actually years ago.

How many of us go… Waaaaat???

So, to leave nothing to luck (and our bad estimates), I want to share with you a simple, yet fun, tool that will help you see how consistent you are. 

When you want to establish new habits, consistency is absolutely critical. 

There is a saying that it takes 21 days to form a new habit.

Rubbish!

There is not a one-size-fits-all formula for a number of days it takes to form a new habit. 

Sometimes if it feels right and you have a massive enthusiasm and/or need to form a new habit, it can stick from day one. 

Other times, when a new habit is replacing an old habit you’ve had for 30 years, it may take a few months.

Regardless, consistency is the key, and since we know we’re not very good at remembering how consistent we are, I want to share with you a little tool that is fun to use.  

I call it… 

The Consistency Calendar™ 

It’s great for tracking how often you’ve stuck to your new habit or goal and possibly tracking your progress as well if it’s not just YES/NO goal. 

Simply here is how it goes. 

1. Create a grid that will cover the duration you want to track your habit for. 
2. Decide on colours you’ll assign to YES/NO or a degree to what you completed your goal. 
3. Every day, make a colour mark depending on whether you stuck to your goal or not. 
4. If you want to track your performance in some numerical way, you can just write the number in the colour spot. 
5. Over time you’ll be able to see how consistent you are. 
6. I suggest you set a reminder on your phone to make your mark for the day. 

It’s that simple but really effective. 

You can use it to track the number of goals and activities. 

If you have a morning routine you want to establish, you can delegate each line to the particular activity and track it over a month period. 

I always use this calendar when I’m working on establishing new habits or when I want to get a more accurate view of how consistent I am with certain activities. 

There is something really satisfying about using the colours and then see the whole month or even a year. 

I hope that helps. 

Remember that these tools only work when you work them. 

Download the templates below: 

If you need the support of a life coach to help you with making a great first impression or with any other areas of your personal development, you’re always welcome to contact me and let’s find out if we’d be the right match.