I’ve been on and off not well since I first burned out in 2016. Since I hit the wall even harder in 2018 I’ve been even worse. Getting back on track is difficult. I’m strugling with anxiety and depression amongst other things. Some days are good, some are bad. Some months are fine ish, others are not. Mental health and physical health go hand in hand, and I know there are plenty of things I can do to improve both. From drinking enough water, to getting enough sleep to allowing myself to spend time on hobbies or moving enough, it’s all connected.

I struggled with body image from a young age, and being a dancer back then didn’t help. I never got diagnosed, but definitely had bulimia as a teenager, and have struggled with my body image ever since. Many healthy habits are the same habits you’re recommended to haveto lose weight. It’s difficult to separate these for me. It’s difficult to focus on drinking more water and sleeping more when I know that is also adviced for weight loss. How do I do one without getting dragged into old negative patterns?

I’ve learned a lot by going through these processes several times. And I’ve spent the past several years reading and learning about mental and physical health, habit building as well as learning more about myself and my own needs, how I work, what works and what doesn’t.

I’ve found more balance. I’ve learned that starting small is essential. If it’s about exercise, then I’ve started with as little as 3 minutes, but at the same place in my day (before showering). It’s about building routines. If I’m too tired, the exercise will be less intense, even if it’s just 3 minutes. Maybe just stretches. Other times it’s about focusing on the first step. So when I was burned out I still had to walk my son to school. I would dress in clothes I could run in, so that on my way back I’d walk, jog, or run, shortest way, or a longer way, all depending on the energy that day. The goal wasn’t exercise, the goal was to put on those clothes and those shoes, when taking my son to school.

So I’m going to start smaller than ever before. I will focus on only 1 habit for 1 month at the time, and then build. Not introducing new habits until the previous is mastered. (so I might be working on the same 1 or 2 or 3 for several months before moving on to the next. This is not to be a “better human” or to be “more effective” or anything like that. It is to get better mental and physical health, as I am living in more or less constant pain, mental, physical and or emotional. It is exhausting for me, and it’s exhausting for my family. So now I will try this. I’ve tried “winging” improvement for a long time, and it’s working a bit, but not much.

I know charts help me, and I know daily follow up helps me. Visualizing so I remember my goals helps. Honestly, forgetfulness is one of the hardest things, so instead of fighting and trying to push through that, I’ll try to adapt accordingly, and make a chart. DOWNLOAD THE FULL PDF WITH ALL 12 PAGES HERE.

Habit tracker the first month vs the 12th (or more month) The PDF has all 12 variants. You can start with more than one habit at the time of course, but I recommend lowering the bar to just one. It might feel very little, but over the course of a year you might actually master several, instead of starting with too much and manage none.



I’ve learned that adapting my environments and really analysing why I don’t follow through and instead of “forcing” myself to do it to accept the things that are hard, and act accordingly. For example, as long as I mended by the sewing machine, it wouldn’t get done as I never got around to pulling it out. Mending by hand in the couch while watching TV is a whole other matter. So, by focusing on 1 habit at the time I can take the time to look at and reflect on why I don’t do it, and test different things to try to make it stick. Trying to get several habits at once makes that too hard.

I made a circular habit tracking chart. Feel free to print and use at whatever scale works for you.
There are no months on them, so you can start in whatever month, and so you can continue on one for more months when needed. No need to get all the way to the last, but now they’re all made and we’ll see how it goes.
For habits that are not daily I suggest filling in with a lighter shade of the same colour, or just 1 diagonal line instead of a cross for example, on the days you don’t do them, so you get the “visual” reward of filling the chart.

I will be starting with daily habits, and eventually move on to things I shouldn’t need to do every day. My first three are water for january, then either sleep or vitamins. So that’s me booked until April already.

I’ll update on my progress a bit now and then on instagram @evakittelsen, feel free to follow there, as I learn and adjust and contemplate this attempt at habit tracking.