Helpful Things to Track in the New Year

Who doesn’t love a fresh, clean slate?

A new year often brings a fresh wave of motivation. But sometimes we lose sight of goals pretty quickly during January because well, life happens and it makes things a little hectic sometimes! What I’ve found that can help, and I’m doing this right along with you if you decide to try it, is habit tracking.

The good news? You don’t need to track all the things to make progress.

Whether you habit track in a planner, a notebook, or an app, I put together some helpful things to track in the new year that I hope you’ll find encouraging.

So grab your coffee (or fave beverage!) and let’s dive into this list of things you can track in 2026 and see how that progress adds up!

Daily Gratitude

Tracking small moments of gratitude is one of the simplest ways to shift your mindset. We could all use more of that, right? I’m actually doing a one-sentence gratitude this month in my Laurel Denise planner.

I promise I know I have much more to be grateful for than a single sentence worth, but this is just about keeping my mind and heart in the right place and keeping things simple. Plus, I’ll have 31 sentences to put together at the end of the month!

Easy ideas for habit tracking your daily gratitude:

• One thing you’re grateful for each day
• Jot down a highlight of your day
• A small win (or a big one!)
• A person you’re thankful for
• One of God’s promises in the Bible
• Something you prayed a long time for that you have right now
• The possibility of ‘something you really want’ happening this year

When you look back at the end of the month, or if you continue doing it for longer, tracking gratitude can help give you a great perspective on your life.

Books You’ve Read or Listened To

If you’re trying to make more time for reading this year, habit tracking can definitely help! I just have a simple ‘Read/Audiobook’ section in my planner where I highlight each day with a pretty blue dot and it seems to be working so well.

Easy ideas for habit tracking your reading goals:

• How many books you’ve read during a certain period of time
• A certain number of pages each day or week
• Minutes spent reading or listening to an audiobook
• So many chapters per day or week
• Particular genres you’ve read during the month

You can make things as specific or general/vague as you’d like, it’s all about what works best for you. Also, the Libby app and Audible app are great resources, along with visiting your local library to find books – Amazon comes in clutch too for some of us that like to own a hard copy!

An extra also (haha), you can speed up audiobooks to finish them a lot faster if you want to give it a whirl! I live on 1.75x speed and it’s perfect for me.

What You Eat & Drink

Tracking what you eat isn’t about driving yourself crazy with labeling all the things, but more about being mindful of what’s going into your body and how your body is feeling.

Easy ideas to track your food/drinks:

• Log what you eat each day
• Protein intake
• Amount of fiber consumed
• Ounces of water you want to drink each day
• Meal plan for the week and put a sticker next to the ones that are winners so you can add them to your meal rotation
• How foods make you feel, such as in your Notes app, you can place an emoji by each meal or snack

One of the food bloggers I follow, Hungry Healthy Happy, mentioned something that I think is so helpful. She said not to focus on what you think you can’t have or things you’re taking away from your diet, instead focus on your goals like adding more protein, more fiber, etc.

Exercise or Simply Moving Your Body

You don’t need to track workouts perfectly, sometimes it’s just about noticing how often you move your body. That’s been my main focus for the past few months, just movement in general. I got an Apple Watch for my birthday last year and it is so helpful for me to track my movement, especially my steps. I get excited about getting a bunch of steps in!

Easy ideas to track your movement:

• The number of steps you walked
• Types of workouts
• Minutes exercising such as yoga, running, etc.
• Rest days (these are especially important!)
• Miles you walked or ran

I know it can be tempting to work in extremes when it comes to fitness, but truly just being consistent with small things still add up to big results.

Morning & Evening Routines

Our routines really provide a foundation and shape our day, so it truly pays off creating ones that are supportive. Choose things that create a calming effect for your morning and evening routines and give your mind and body space rest up and recharge.

Ideas to track:

• Skincare routines
• Morning or evening habits
• Journaling
• Vitamins or supplements
• Prayer time

For me, getting up before the sun rises and having a coffee, going through my to-do’s for the day and doing my Bible Recap is a calming start before the chaos ensues, haha. My evening routine kind of starts early when my husband comes home from work in the evenings and we wind down with some dinner, comfy clothes and a tv show/catching up on football.

Self-Care & Overall Well-Being

Some of the most meaningful things to track aren’t necessarily “productive” at all.

Ideas to track:

• Cozy moments
• Favorite coffee or drinks
• Moments of rest
• Things that made you smile
• Sleep
• Mood
• Energy
• Stress levels
• Emotional check-ins

Each of these things affect our well-being and can be helpful to keep track of, especially when it comes to sleep or moods. Both can be improved if we are focused on making them better and helps us see what’s working and what isn’t.

That’s a wrap on helpful things to track in the new year, sweet friends! I hope you’ve found a little something that you’d like to start tracking without feeling pressure or overwhelm. Remember, habit tracking should feel like a gentle companion, not just another thing you feel like that’s on your to-do list.

I can’t wait to hear your thoughts on this post, be sure to let me know in the comments and if there’s anything on this list that you already track!

P.S. If you’re interested in learning more about habit tracking, you can visit some of my other posts below:

The Power of Habit Tracking

Why You Should Track Your Progress

How to Cultivate a Fresh Start

If you found this post helpful, I would love if you would share it with others! 🤍