Bullet Journal Trackers: Pros and Cons

If you have any prior knowledge about bullet journals, you’re sure to know that anything can fill its pages. It can be overwhelming and confusing, especially if you are just starting a bullet journal. Here, I’ll be listing some popular trackers in organizational bullet journaling, breaking them down, and explaining why I find them useful or not.

One popular general aspect is trackers. Trackers in general seem like a brilliant idea to put in your bullet journal, but problems arise when you overcrowd the pages with too many trackers. The more trackers you have, the more on top of them you have to be. If you miss one or two days of bullet journaling and you fall behind, it can be especially hard to get back on track if you have six or seven trackers waiting for you. From personal experience, I suggest only creating as many trackers as you know you can handle. One month, I added so many extra trackers that I couldn’t remember any of the data I missed from the past two days, and I fell so far behind I ended up abandoning the entire month. So to benefit from bullet journal trackers, only create what you know you can manage.

Some popular trackers include sleep, habit, water, and mood. In my opinion, mood trackers are the most useful to me. Whenever I look back, I can see exactly how many “good” or “amazing” days I’ve had, which brings back memories and happiness. A mood tracker also makes me subconsciously strive to make each day a good day. I feel so prideful whenever I can sit down and mark that I’ve had an amazing day. They also help show you whether or not you can try harder to make each day happier and overall better. If you have a long chain of days that are sad or terrible, try to find something to make each day better than the last.

Sleep trackers are also extremely useful, unless you already have a Fitbit or Apple Watch that can track it for you automatically. I never use my Fitbit, so my sleep tracker really helps me realize whether or not my sleep habits are healthy. However, if you fall behind even a couple days, it can be almost impossible to recall how many hours of sleep you got or what time you went to bed and woke up. All in all, I genuinely like sleep trackers in bullet journals since they help visually represent my sleep habits, but they can become a true struggle if you fall behind.

Water trackers and habit trackers are okay, but can get out of hand quickly if neglected. I actually recently eliminated my water tracker from my monthly spread since I was having trouble keeping it updated and accurate. With so many other events occurring throughout an average day, the expectation you set for yourself with a water tracker is that you will be able to remember just how many glasses of water you consumed. This task would be completely achievable if you carried your journal around and constantly updated it, but in most situations this idea is unfeasible. Unless you have an astounding memory, are extremely dedicated, or carry your bullet journal around nonstop, I don’t recommend keeping a water tracker. However, if you still want to track your water, there are many apps that are much more accessible than a bullet journal. Some popular ones are the Fitbit app, Plant Nanny, and many more.

Habit trackers can be extremely useful in helping you maintain or start new habits, but can also get out of hand. This is easily understandable: if you try to maintain too many habits, things start getting out of hand. Either you barely have enough time for all of them, you feel overwhelmed, you end up abandoning most of them, or a combination. However, if a reasonable amounts of habits are in the tracker, that’s perfect! Habit trackers are insanely helpful with tracking your habits and seeing which habits you need to work on more. They also are a perfect tool to use when you start a new habit, since you can’t wait until you can check off that box and grow the streak you have going.

Overall, I still believe trackers in bullet journals are a phenomenal way to track your progress and see stats that can help improve your daily lifestyle. That being said, be careful when creating your bullet journal and make sure not to over-track your life. Whatever amount of trackers you can handle, create, since trackers are considerably more helpful than harmful. Tracking everyday habits can help lead to better routines that you will stick to, meaning a healthier and happier lifestyle.