Tracy's Tracking Tools

how I collect data and make it look pretty

When I was little, my mom would sometimes call me TRACKY instead of Tracy. If only she could see how that played out because holy shit, I AM SUCH A TRACKER. She got to see my blog and journals for a little while, but never got to see the workbooks, planners, and ritual systems that came later. All of these things have kept me going and helped me re-member myself in the years since she died.

And the funny thing?

She always used to tell me:

It’s still hard for me to do that when my brain is full and everything feels like it’s moving faster than I can keep up. But she did teach me about the power of a to-do list (Capricorn mother!), and a deep satisfaction for crossing something off. She also taught me that writing things down is how you keep yourself together, especially when life feels like it’s falling apart.

What I didn’t know back then is that tracking is:

• how I stay in relationship with my own life

• how I make the invisible visible

• how I remember who I am WHILE I am becoming who I am becoming

• how I honor the parts of me that are quiet, subtle, and easy to overlook.

Tracking helps me see cycles.

Tracking helps me honor patterns.

Tracking helps me recognize when I’m in a good season, a hard season, a tender one, or a rebuilding one.

It’s how I notice myself.
It’s how I give myself credit.
It’s how I make it all count.

So now, I give you

Let’s break it down!

Here are the tools I use to track my life:

• Intentions for the Week Planner

• Currently Workbook

• Hobonichi Cousin Planner

• Food Journal/Planner Zine

• Monthly template

I’ll break them down quickly!

Intentions for the Week Planner

I’ve been using my Intentions for the Week Planner for over 3 years. I made myself a template during the pandemic and eventually turned it into a planner. I wanted to make sure I used the planner every week, so in 2023, I started my accountability group called Self-Check-In on Sundays. To say this planner changed my life is an understatement!

This planner helps me track my goals, my week, my gratitudes, and dinners. I also use it to make to-do lists geared towards my home/work life, as well as self-care rituals. When I am feeling untethered during the week, I have a running list to refer to. On Sundays, I fill it in during Self-Check-In and combine that with my weekly tarot card pull.

Here’s an example of how I fill it in.

Here’s a video I made about it:

It’s fun to color things in. It makes it feel less daunting and more playful.

Currently Workbook

If you’re here and subscribed to my Substack, you probably already know about my Currently Workbook. I made my first workbook in 2019 and have kept the practice going ever since. It’s my art, my calendar, and my journal all in one. It’s how I check in with myself, track my life, and practice art. If you like my handwriting or how I decorate things, I owe much of that confidence in mark-making to my workbooks. What an incredible journey it’s been!

A sample of the insides:

Here’s a video I made showing you how it works:

You can look at all of the months I’ve shared here on Substack.

Hobonichi Cousin

This is my third Hobonichi planner. I started with the smaller techo version, and for the past two years, I have been playing with a Hobonichi Cousin.

It’s turned into a daily journal/planner/sketchbook. Sometimes I make TO DO lists (when it’s at my desk in the mornings). Sometimes it’s a full-on art spread. Honestly, I’ve never used it the way it was originally intended, and that’s what makes it magic.

You can see how I’ve used it in this post from last year. There are also a bunch of images peppered in my Pinterest board. I’ll be sharing some of my favorite pages from 2025 soon :)

Food Journal

In the past 2.5 years, I lost 50lbs and kept it off thanks to tracking. My food journal was actually the first workbook I made. I started using one in 2018, and each book tracks about 11 weeks of eating. I’ve filled up 9 of them so far.

Using my food journal helped me see my habits and patterns around food clearly. It became one of the most effective ways to check in with myself and make better choices. You can read more about my weight loss journey on Shutterbean.

Here’s what it looks like inside:

Which leads me to my latest project…

Food Planner Booklet

Since I am now in maintenance mode, I’ve been working on finding what foods fit my current lifestyle. Approaching it with curiosity and play (through art!) has helped me solidify a solid meal planning arsenal. In this booklet, I’ve written down all my favorite breakfasts, lunches, dinners, snacks, desserts & beverages so I have something to refer to when I’m meal planning and making grocery lists. Writing things down is how I make things stick!

Here’s a sample of how I filled in my meal planner booklet:

I’ll be sharing more in another post (coming soon!).

Monthly Template:

I use this calendar to track my workouts. This template is actually in the back of my Intentions for the Week Planner. I color in every day I intentionally move my body. This template helped me create a workout routine back in 2022!

Seeing all your hard work PAYS OFF.

All of these tools I created for myself can be used a la carte!

If you want to track time with lists & calendar templates, I created a whole time management system so you can make your own binder system.

And if you’re interested in using my Currently workbook system, I have a download for that too.

Those are my tracking tools!

I hope this inspires you to track parts of your own life, too! Being able to look back, reflect, and see your hard work add up over time is such an invaluable gift. Keep going. It’s worth it!

Love your favorite tracker,

Tracy