Calculating good and bad habits with Habit Scorecard

The first step towards maintaining a habit is to be aware of them – what we do and when we do it. Being aware of our actions (eg. pointing and calling system), conscious or sub-conscious, is crucial in making or breaking habits.

Habits Scorecard is the pointing-and-calling system for our personal lives. Here's how it works,

• Create a list of daily habits
• Mark each habit based on whether it's good, bad or neutral
• '+' : Good Habit
• '-' : Bad Habit
• '=' : Neutral Habit

Here's an example from James Clear in Atomic Habits

• Wake up =
• Turn off alarm =
• Check my phone –
• Go to the bathroom =
• Weigh myself +
• Take a shower +
• Brush my teeth +
• Floss my teeth +
• Put on deodorant +
• Hang up towel to dry =
• Get dressed =
• Make a cup of tea +

The goal with this Habits Scorecard is simply to notice all of our habits. As a next step, we can begin trying to change them, for instance, using The Four Laws of Behaviour Change.

References:

• Atomic Habits (James Clear), Chapter 4 – The Man Who Didn't Look Right