AI & Goals & Habit Systems Tracking

6 months in 2024 done. 6 months left.

How are the next 6 months looking for your goals?

To properly plan to meet your goals, it’s important to think about the habit systems that you do consistently.

Habits compounds. If you are into New Year's resolutions, over 90% of people who have them don't complete them. It is primarily due to not having the right habits in place.

When you do anything consistently, whether it is working on your business, or not eating healthy, you’ll get results you want or don’t want.

To focus on getting the results you want, digital and AI tools are great ways to help you build those habit systems.

Using free Google Gemini since it exports sheets easier than other chatbots like ChatGPT, use these prompts and fill in your goals and habits.

Prompt 1: Can you write me prompts for goal setting and habit tracking to meet my goals for the rest of the year?

Output 1:

Goal Setting Prompts for the Rest of the Year:

Reflection:

1. Review the year so far: What goals have you accomplished? What areas have you fallen short? What unexpected opportunities have arisen?
2. Re-evaluate your priorities: Do your current goals still align with your overall values and aspirations? Has anything changed that necessitates a shift in focus?
3. Imagine your ideal year-end: How do you want to feel? What significant progress would you like to make in various aspects of your life?

Goal Formulation:

1. Identify 3-5 key areas you want to focus on: These could be personal, professional, health-related, creative, or anything else that holds importance to you.
2. For each area, brainstorm specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound (SMART) goals: Make them challenging but attainable.
3. Break down large goals into smaller, manageable steps: This will make them less overwhelming and create a clear roadmap for progress.

Habit Tracking Prompts for the Rest of the Year:

Identify Habits that Support Your Goals:

1. For each goal, list 2-3 habits that would significantly contribute to its achievement. For example, a goal of improving public speaking might involve habits like practicing presentations or joining a toastmasters club.
2. Consider the feasibility of incorporating these habits: Be realistic about the time and energy you can commit. Start small and gradually increase the frequency or intensity of your habits.
3. Choose a habit tracker format: There are digital apps, printable templates, or even simple bullet journals. Find a system that works best for you and is easy to maintain.

Tracking and Consistency:

1. Schedule regular check-ins: Set aside time each week or month to review your progress on both goals and habits. This allows for adjustments and course correction if needed.
2. Celebrate milestones!: Acknowledge your accomplishments, no matter how small. Reward yourself for maintaining consistent effort and celebrate victories along the way.
3. Be kind to yourself: Expect setbacks and slip-ups. The key is to learn from them, forgive yourself, and recommit to your goals and habits.

Something to also add is having an accountability community of some sort, whether a friend or group to help push each other consistently. That part doesn’t necessarily need to be tracked.

Now with that output we can write cleaner in a table format with this prompt.

Prompt 2: Can you give me a table template in Google Sheets from the previous response? I’d like to be able to edit my goals and habits.

Output2:

docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1ZieF9Zl6pt5PPnXPd7Nr9haSZ7tyW1PObpBe-ak4obg/edit?gid=667694034#gid=667694034

This will give you a high level roadmap of what and how to track. Now you just need the ‘when’ to track it with this final prompt. If you don't track it, there's no way to tell if you are meeting your goals.

Prompt3: Can you make a 1 month (30 days) calendar template?for 3 habits to track that sums up habit counts by day? The first column is the date, next 3 columns are the habits.

Output3:

Here's a 1-month calendar template you can use in Google Sheets.

docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1IGgA8NLoULrPHlypR1k02vjNwm3145RW8UrXVLqXW30/edit?usp=sharing

You can copy the template rows for the rest of the year.

I use these templates as examples to work on building my business, buy a new condo, and do 10 pullups by the end of the year.

For looking into digital/AI tools, there are numerous options.

Prompt4: What goal and habit tracking apps you recommend to test?

Output4:

Here are some goal and habit tracking apps to consider testing, categorized based on their strengths:

Habit Tracking:

• Habitica (Android & iOS): This gamified app turns habit building into a role-playing game. You earn rewards and battle monsters as you complete habits and avoid bad ones. It's a fun and engaging way to stay motivated.
• Habitify (Android & iOS): This app offers a powerful yet user-friendly interface for tracking habits. It allows you to set goals, track progress, and view insightful analytics.
• Way of Life (Android): This app goes beyond simple habit tracking, allowing you to analyze trends, identify patterns, and gain deeper insights into your habits.

Goal Setting:

• TickTick (Android & iOS): Primarily a to-do list app, TickTick also excels at goal setting. It allows you to break down large goals into smaller, manageable steps and track your progress over time.
• Goalcast (Android & iOS): This app focuses on helping you achieve long-term goals. It provides tools for visualization, motivation, and accountability.

Habit and Goal Tracking:

• Noom Coach (Android & iOS): Known for its weight loss coaching, Noom Coach can also be used for general habit and goal setting. Its personalized approach and focus on behavior change can be beneficial for various goals.
• Todoist (Android & iOS): This versatile to-do list app also offers features for managing projects, setting recurring tasks, and tracking goals.

Many of these apps have freemium or free trials. I keep it simple with Google Sheets and simple scripting for aggregating totals as shown in the templates.

You can also just use pen and paper, but I argue that's harder to get a big picture unless you're quite detailed about it.

Whatever digital tool you use, remember we are driven by our human needs. No tool will force you to do anything. A tool can help you track and remind you, but you need to consider what goals you want to accomplish and do the work consistently to get there.

Self discipline and motivation will be eternally relevant.

Intrinsic motivation (to achieve for yourself) vs external (to please others) will help you the most long term.

Ultimately the choice is yours to work towards a life you want.

What goals are you working towards?

What habits will you put in place to reach your goals?

Cheers,

Elia