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TRACK YOUR LIFE
■Set attainable goals
Time to get a grip? Before you
start, don’t set yourself up for
disappointment, or morale will
go through the floor – and
tracking kit out of the window.
Go easy on yourself at first,
whether attempting to eat
better, reduce screen time or
exercise more. Positive trends
are what’s important, not
blazing to the best possible
you in an instant.■Streamline everything
Tracking can rapidly become
complex if you splash out on
a ton of hardware and end up
juggling apps. Where possible,
centralise and simplify. If you
can use one app for multiple
types of tracking, do so. One
piece of hardware over three?
Great – that will save time,
money and brain load.THE BASICS
START SOLID
■Track habits
Infusing new habits into your
routine requires you do them
often – and tracking helps with
this. Streaks (iOS), Habitica
(Android, iOS) and Productive
(Android, iOS) all provide
flexible systems for setting
and tracking such goals.■Watch your money
Always running out of cash
before payday? Then figure out
where it’s all going. YNAB and
Mint are popular options for
complex budgeting. Expenses
(Android) and Pennies (iOS)
are also solid, even if only to
sanity-check non-essential
spending.In case you don’t trust your little ol’ brain to keep tabs on all
aspects of your existence, Craig Grannell delves into the appsthat can help you manage your physical and mental health
■Keep data private
Tracking is inherently personal.
That’s just as true whether
monitoring food intake or
keeping tabs on your Lo ose
Women addiction. So be sure
you can trust the systems
you’re using with this personal
data. That’s doubly important
whenever money enters the
equation – especially if you
link financial trackers to live
bank accounts.■Prioritise your tracking
What we’re talking about here
is tracking your entire life, but
be reasonable: monitoring
everything you do can
become onerous. If you
don’t fancy the busywork,
decide on what you care
about most. Once you’ve
infused a couple of habits
into your routine, there’s a
good chance you’ll be hooked
on the idea and will want to
expand it into other areas.■Don’t get obsessive
It’s vital to understand your
motivations – and what
demotivates you. If tracking
something specific starts
to get you down, ease up on
demands or temporarily stop.
For example, there’s no point
tracking sleep with an app like
Sleep Cycle (Android, iOS) if
you get anxious about never
getting your eight hours – and
then end up with insomnia.BETA YOURSELF
Unlock ’n’ roll
Don’t invest time and
effort in systems you can’t
get data out of. If export
options (like the pictured
one from Apple’s Health
app) don’t exist, head
elsewhere.