Day 1: Getting Started

This is the first day of the Habitspark 7-day Jumpstart.  Congratulations on choosing to create positive change in your life!

Step 1: Habitspark Basics

The first thing we’ll do is cover the very basics of the system:

Each day, you’ll track your progress on new habits you intend to create. There are three possibilities for each day: kept, missed, or pass.

Kept. If you keep the habit, mark down the number of days in a row that you’ve kept it.

So if you were at ’4′ the day before, now you mark down ’5′:

If it’s the first day, or you missed the habit the day before, start at ’1′:

Missed. If you miss the habit, mark down an X.

Pass. If you don’t perform the habit, but for a good reason, put a dot (‘.’) to signify a pass.

Passes don’t count as misses, so you don’t need to start again at ’1′ when you next keep the habit:

Examples of when to use a pass: You plan to jog for at least 20 minutes every day, but you have the flu. You plan to water your plants every day, but you are on a trip.

Review:

Each item below is a your progress so far on a habit.  Write down you would put next depending on whether you kept, missed, or passed.

1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

a. What would you put next if you kept the habit?
b. What would you put next if you missed the habit?
c. What would you put next if you “passed”?

2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 .

a. What would you put next if you kept the habit?
b. What would you put next if you missed the habit?
c. What would you put next if you “passed”?

3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 X

a. What would you put next if you kept the habit?
b. What would you put next if you missed the habit?
c. What would you put next if you “passed”?

4. 1 2 3 4 5 X .

a. What would you put next if you kept the habit?
b. What would you put next if you missed the habit?
c. What would you put next if you “passed”?

Answers:
1a: 8  1b: X  1c: .  2a: 7  2b: X  2c: .  3a: 1  3b: X  3c:  4a: 1  4b: X  4c: .

Step 2: Progress Tracking

Next, choose where you’ll record your progress.  If you want to keep it very simple, you could use just a piece of lined paper or a notebook:

When you hit the end of the paper, just continue on the next set of lines:

Graph paper would be even easier for tracking purposes.

You can also download printable forms. There is a version with smaller instructions and one with larger instructions.

Finally, you can use a spreadsheet program.  If you like, you can download this simple template.  There is also a fancier version using excel 2007+ that does many of the calculations for you.  Here’s a video explaining the fancy excel spreadsheet.

Step 3: Three Starter Habits

Now that you know the basics and have a place to track your progress, it’s time to start some habits.  This week, you’ll track the following three habits:

1. Track Habitspark progress. What is a good time for you to spend a minute to track your progress every day?  Right before you go to bed? First thing in the morning? After lunch?  Make it a habit to write down your progress on your habits at that time every day.  Even if things aren’t going smoothly, as long as you are tracking your habits, you are making progress.

2. Complete 7 Day Jumpstart activities. Set aside about 15 minutes a day to read that day’s material and complete any activities.

3. Meta Habit or Your First Habit Take some time each day to review your progress, problem-solve, set goals, and clarify your values.  OR If you feel ready, you can go ahead and get started on your first habit.  One tip is to make it something you can do every day.

Step 4: Register on the forums

Finally, take a minute to register on the habitspark.com forums.  This is a great resource for you.  You can ask questions, problem-solve, and share your progress.  You may find it helpful to report your progress regularly.  You can so do on the forums, your blog, facebook, or a with buddy who you email, call, or meet with.  This helps you to get support and be more accountable.

Now you’re all set! Great work today.  The rest of the days will be much shorter. Come back tomorrow for Day 2.