Prompt Library

Goals And Progress

30-Day Habit Tracker with Progress Scoring

Tracks one habit over 30 days with daily progress logs and habit scorecards.

1. Habit Selection

  1. Ask the user what habit they want to build or track for 30 days.
    • Example: "What habit are you committing to for 30 days—exercise, meditation, reading, writing, or something else?"
  2. Ask the user about their motivation—why this habit, why now, what will it enable?
    • Example: "Why is this habit important to you? What outcome or transformation are you seeking?"
  3. Ask the user about the specific behavior—what exactly will they do, when, and for how long?
    • Example: "Define the exact habit: What action, what time of day, for how many minutes, under what conditions?"
  4. Ask the user about potential obstacles—what typically prevents them from following through?
    • Example: "What usually gets in the way—time, energy, motivation, forgetting, or something else?"

2. Habit Design

Habit Specificity:

Vague → Specific:

  • Bad: "Exercise more"

  • Good: "20-minute walk every morning at 7 AM"

  • Bad: "Read more"

  • Good: "Read 20 pages before bed every night"

Implementation Intention: "I will [BEHAVIOR] at [TIME] in [LOCATION]"

Example: "I will meditate for 10 minutes at 6:30 AM in my bedroom"

Minimum Viable Habit:

  • Start smaller than seems necessary
  • "Too easy to fail" is the goal
  • Build consistency first, intensity later

Examples:

  • 1 push-up (not 50)
  • 2 minutes meditation (not 20)
  • 1 page reading (not 30)

Once consistent, scale up naturally.

3. 30-Day Tracking Structure

Daily Log:

| Day | Date | Completed? | Duration/Quality | Energy Before | Energy After | Notes | | --- | ----- | ---------- | ---------------- | ------------- | ------------ | ------------------ | | 1 | Mar 1 | ✅ | 20 min, good | 6/10 | 8/10 | Felt great after | | 2 | Mar 2 | ✅ | 15 min, okay | 5/10 | 7/10 | Tired but did it | | 3 | Mar 3 | ❌ | - | - | - | Overslept, skipped |

Tracking Categories:

Completion (Yes/No):

  • Simple checkbox
  • Binary tracking
  • Core metric

Quality/Intensity:

  • How well did you do it? (1-10)
  • Full effort vs. going through motions
  • Satisfaction with execution

Energy Levels:

  • Before: How you felt starting
  • After: How you felt after completing
  • Shows impact of habit on state

Context Notes:

  • What made it easy or hard?
  • Lessons or observations
  • Situational factors

4. Progress Scoring

Daily Score:

  • Completed = 1 point
  • Skipped = 0 points
  • Today's score: [0 or 1]

Running Total:

  • Days completed / Days elapsed = Success %
  • Day 10: 8/10 = 80%
  • Goal: Maintain >80% success rate

Streak Tracking:

  • Current streak: [Days in a row]
  • Longest streak: [Best run]
  • Streak broken: [How many times]

Weekly Summary:

  • Week 1: [X/7 days] = Y%
  • Week 2: [X/7 days] = Y%
  • Week 3: [X/7 days] = Y%
  • Week 4: [X/7 days] = Y%
  • Month total: [X/30 days] = Y%

5. Habit Support Systems

Triggers & Cues:

Time-Based:

  • Alarm or calendar reminder
  • Specific time daily
  • Consistency builds automaticity

Location-Based:

  • Environmental cue (e.g., yoga mat visible)
  • Specific room or space
  • Visual reminder in context

Habit Stacking:

  • Link to existing habit
  • "After I [existing habit], I will [new habit]"
  • Example: "After I brush teeth, I will meditate for 5 min"

Implementation:

  • After [existing habit]
  • I will [new habit]
  • For [duration]
  • In [location]

Accountability:

Social Accountability:

  • Tell someone about commitment
  • Daily check-in buddy
  • Post progress publicly
  • Join group doing same habit

Financial Commitment:

  • Bet money on completion (Stickk, Beeminder)
  • Donate to cause you hate if you fail
  • Pay friend $X for each miss

Self-Accountability:

  • Visual tracker (X marks on calendar)
  • Progress journal
  • Photo log (if applicable)
  • Data tracking

Reward System:

Immediate Rewards:

  • After habit: Something pleasurable
  • Example: Favorite coffee after workout
  • Positive association builds desire

Milestone Rewards:

  • 7 days straight: [Small reward]
  • 14 days: [Medium reward]
  • 21 days: [Bigger reward]
  • 30 days: [Celebration/significant reward]

6. Obstacle Navigation

When You Miss a Day:

Don't:

  • ❌ Quit entirely ("I already messed up")
  • ❌ Binge compensate (miss 1 day, do 3× next day)
  • ❌ Beat yourself up
  • ❌ Give up on tracking

Do:

  • ✅ Acknowledge miss without judgment
  • ✅ Get back on track next day
  • ✅ Analyze: What prevented it? How to avoid?
  • ✅ Remember: One miss doesn't ruin progress

Never Miss Twice:

  • Missing once is setback
  • Missing twice becomes pattern
  • Priority is getting back on streak

Common Obstacles:

"I forgot"

  • Solution: Better triggers, reminders, environment cues
  • Make it obvious and unavoidable

"I was too tired/busy"

  • Solution: Minimum viable version (1 min vs. 20 min)
  • Something is better than nothing
  • Lower the barrier

"I wasn't motivated"

  • Solution: Motivation follows action, not precedes
  • Commit to 2 minutes, then decide
  • Usually you'll continue once started

"I traveled/routine disrupted"

  • Solution: Plan travel version of habit
  • Adapt to context (hotel room workout)
  • Maintain streak even if modified

7. Progress Milestones

Day 7 (Week 1 Complete):

  • First milestone achieved
  • Habit starting to feel normal
  • Celebrate: You're 23% there

Day 14 (Halfway to 21):

  • Momentum building
  • Pattern forming
  • Celebrate: Reward yourself

Day 21 (Habit Formation Threshold):

  • Traditionally when habits "stick"
  • Noticeable mental shift
  • Celebrate: Major milestone

Day 30 (Challenge Complete):

  • Full month achieved
  • Habit likely sustainable
  • Decision point: Continue or iterate

Post-30-Day Decision:

  • Keep habit as-is (it's working)
  • Increase intensity (ready for more)
  • Modify approach (learned what works better)
  • Add second habit (build on success)
  • Stop habit (achieved desired outcome or not valuable)

8. Deliverables

30-Day Habit Tracker:

  • Daily log with checkboxes
  • 30 rows (one per day)
  • Completion, quality, energy, notes columns
  • Visual calendar (X marks or stickers)

Weekly Scorecard:

  • Week 1-4 completion rates
  • Streak tracking
  • Progress percentage
  • Pattern observations

Habit Profile:

  • Habit name and specific definition
  • Why it matters (motivation)
  • Trigger and context (when/where)
  • Success criteria (what counts)
  • Obstacles and solutions
  • Support systems in place

Progress Visualization:

MARCH HABIT TRACKER: Morning Meditation

Week 1: ✅✅✅✅✅✅❌ (6/7 - 86%)
Week 2: ✅✅✅✅✅✅✅ (7/7 - 100%) 🔥
Week 3: ✅✅❌✅✅✅✅ (6/7 - 86%)
Week 4: ✅✅✅✅ (4/4 so far...)

Total: 23/25 days = 92%
Current Streak: 4 days
Longest Streak: 7 days

Insights Report (End of 30 Days):

  • Overall success rate
  • Best days/times for habit
  • What helped most
  • What interfered most
  • Physical/mental impact observed
  • Decision about continuing

Celebration Plan:

  • Milestones (days 7, 14, 21, 30)
  • Rewards at each
  • Final celebration for completion
  • Share achievement

Present comprehensive 30-day habit tracking system with specific habit design, daily logging, progress scoring, obstacle navigation, milestone celebrations, and insights extraction to successfully build lasting habits through consistent action and mindful tracking.