Last week, I ranted a little about why I think, sometimes, paper is better. For me, a lot of it boils down to working in technology. All my distractions are online, and to really focus and get things done, I sometimes need to go low-tech. So, for those of you who like to rock it old-school, I've created a paper version (110KB PDF) of the 30-day tracker.
Here's how it works.
The paper version of the 30-day tracker is pretty self-explanatory, but I just want to cover a couple of basics. The 30 days is all on one page, for easy reference. All you do is:
- Describe your project at the top.
- Check off each day as you complete it.
- Write in the date next to each day.
- Write any notes you feel like adding.
There's only 1 rule.
Whatever you do, stick to it for 30 days. That's all I'm asking. It's even ok to skip a day or 2, especially if that's part of the plan. For example, I've been working on getting back to my exercise program, and I'm doing a 30-day experiment around that. I skip Sundays to rest, though, so my 30-day plan is really 5 weeks at 6 days/week. It's in the plan, so I'm not cheating.
Of course, don't go a week between activity days, but if you lapse or get sidetracked by the holiday a couple of times, don't worry about it. Better to have a 30-day plan that takes 33 days then miss a day, feel like crap, beat yourself up, and quit after 10 days. Too many of us take an all-or-none approach, and, in my experience, "none" is the usual outcome.
It's a work in progress.
I'd love to hear feedback from anyone who tries this out, even if it's critical. I'd like to fine-tune this as the blog progresses. My goal is to keep it simple, but that doesn't mean there isn't room for changes or even multiple versions. I want to hear what works for you.
