What is a habit scorecard?
A habit scorecard is a list of what you do on a normal day, in order, with a mark next to each habit. The exercise comes from James Clear’s book Atomic Habits (2018), where the Habits Scorecard is the first step: before you change a habit, you notice it. A lot of what we do each day happens without a decision, such as picking up the phone the moment the alarm stops. When you write it down, you can see it.
The marks are simple. + means the habit helps the person you want to be, − means it works against that, and = means it is neutral. The scorecard does not ask you to fix anything yet. It only shows you where you are. For the words that come up below, such as cue and anchor, see the habit glossary.
How to fill in your habit scorecard
- Start from an example. Pick the starter that is closest to your day, or a blank list. Change the lines to match what you really do, remove what you do not do, and add what is missing. Type a line, press Enter, and type the next one.
- Go through the day in order. Morning, daytime, evening. Add the small, automatic things too, such as “turn on the TV” or “check the news”. These lines are easy to forget.
- Mark each line. Tap + if the habit helps you, − if it works against you, and = if it is neither. If you are not sure, mark it = and go on.
- Read the score. The counts and the bar show the balance of your day. The view by part of the day shows where the − marks are.
- Pick two habits. One − habit to change first, and one + habit to protect. The tool turns them into a short plan that you can print.
How to choose +, − or =
Ask one question for each line: does this habit help the person I want to be? Do not ask whether the habit is good for everyone. One episode of a series can be + for someone who wants a calm evening after work, and − for someone who wants that hour for a side project. Your marks depend on your own goals.
- + Good: you are glad you do it, and you want to keep it.
- − Bad: it takes time or energy from something that matters more to you.
- = Neutral: it simply needs doing, such as getting dressed or the commute.
The scorecard is about noticing, not judging. Be honest, and be kind to yourself: nobody else sees the marks unless you share them.
Habit scorecard example: a workday
This is the example that the tool shows when you open the page. You can change every line of it.
| Part of the day | What I do | Mark |
|---|---|---|
| Morning | Snooze the alarm twice | − bad |
| Morning | Read messages in bed | − bad |
| Morning | Drink a glass of water | + good |
| Morning | Make coffee | = neutral |
| Morning | Shower and get dressed | = neutral |
| Morning | Eat breakfast at the table | + good |
| Morning | Commute with a podcast | = neutral |
| Daytime | Plan the top three tasks | + good |
| Daytime | Open email before the first task | − bad |
| Daytime | Scroll social media between tasks | − bad |
| Daytime | Take a lunch break away from the desk | + good |
| Daytime | Answer every chat message at once | − bad |
| Daytime | Take a short walk after lunch | + good |
| Daytime | Write the to-do list for tomorrow | + good |
| Evening | Cook dinner | + good |
| Evening | Tidy the kitchen | = neutral |
| Evening | Watch one episode | = neutral |
| Evening | Let autoplay start the next episode | − bad |
| Evening | Read a few pages | + good |
| Evening | Scroll the phone in bed | − bad |
This day has 20 lines: 8 good, 7 bad and 5 neutral. Most − marks are during the day. The − marks sit in the small gaps: in bed, between tasks and after an episode ends. The person picks “Scroll social media between tasks” to change first and protects “Plan the top three tasks”, so the plan is: “After I plan the top three tasks, I will put my phone in a drawer until lunch.”
The tool has two more habit scorecard examples, a student day and a day at home with kids. Open one, then change it to fit your own day.
What to do after you score your habits
- Change one habit, not five. Pick the − habit that matters most to you, or the one that is easiest to change. Leave the rest for later.
- Build on a + habit. Write the new habit as “After I [+ habit], I will [new habit].” This is habit stacking: a habit you already do each day becomes the cue for the new one.
- Keep the new habit small. Two minutes or less at the start. If you need ideas, the list of habit ideas to track gives each one a clear “done” rule.
- Make the − habit harder to start. Add one small step in its way, for example a charger in another room.
- Tell someone. A friend who sees your check-ins keeps the change on your mind. Our guide on how to build habits with friends shows how to set it up, and a habit tracker with friends puts each check-in on both phones.
Check off the new habit each day, for example in the free online habit tracker. Score your day again after a few weeks. Some − marks may now be +, and you can pick the next habit to change.
Habit scorecard template and PDF
Prefer paper? Click Print blank template for an empty habit scorecard template: lines for the morning, the daytime and the evening, three marks to circle on each line, and a box for your plan at the bottom. Print scorecard prints your own list with its marks and plan. Both fit on one page of A4 or US Letter. For a habit scorecard PDF, choose “Save as PDF” as the printer in the print window.
To track the new habit on paper each day, make a sheet with the printable habit tracker maker.
A habit scorecard app for the habit you pick
This page is a habit scorecard app that runs in your browser, with no account. A scorecard is a look at one day. The change happens in the days after it, one check-in at a time. HabitRix is a habit tracker for iPhone and Android, free to download, where you make a shared room for one habit, invite a friend or a group, and everyone checks in where the others can see it. Read how habit sharing works to see if it fits you.