Whether to "track" your progress is an individual decision. Tracking is certainly not required for successful rebooting! But if you like the concept, here are some ideas:
[anchor=physical_calendars]
Real Stuff[/anchor]
Electronics are cool, but have you considered a good old-fashioned
paper calendar? You can mark the days with a pencil and you'll have a physical, tangible record of your progress that you can hold in your hands!
Another guy even posted a picture of has calendar, on which he had put dozens of the kind of "A For Effort!" stickers you might have gotten on your assignments in elementary school. He gave himself a new sticker for each day clean! Clever ;D I tried to locate that image for this post, but unfortunately I couldn't find it. :-[
It can be fun to be creative!
In one memorable case a guy reported etching his calendar into the wood of a desk drawer, to help convince himself that his progress was permanent and not temporary. I wouldn't recommend that (you may want to forget about your P addiction one day!) but it's a cute idea.
One guy built a giant calendar out of Lego building blocks, adding a new piece each day. He said he loved it, because there was no way he wanted to relapse and take the whole thing apart
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Spreadsheets[/anchor]
A spreadsheet is a kind of simplified computer programming environment that displays data in a table. Many RebootNation visitors are advanced computer users, so it is not surprising that they like to use spreadsheets to track their relapses.
Because you have access to a programming environment, spreadsheets offer a lot of flexibility. For example, you could calculate how often you relapsed in a week or a month or a year, and make charts and line graphs. Or you could include various
good habits related to your reboot:
Many people enjoy the spreadsheets and feel motivated by them. Others take a different approach:
Both viewpoints are valid, and that's why we say tracking your progress is an individual decision.
Spreadsheets cannot yet be easily embedded in your forum signature. If your spreadsheet is online, you can include
a link, but only a few people will actually click through to view your spreadsheet. Thus, you may find it is helpful to have an accountability partner or close rebooting companions to help you get
accountability from your spreadsheet.
Want a spreadsheet of your own? Some kind rebooters have created spreadsheet templates you can copy and use yourself. There is a
popular spreadsheet thread over on the YBR forum that includes instructions and a template (Google Account is required!)
[anchor=phone_apps]
Mobile Apps[/anchor]
If you use Android or iOS, there are several "calendar apps" available which make it easy to mark off days. There are also various apps related to
addiction recovery and
building good habits which you may find useful. I don't use any of these apps myself, so these are not recommendations, just ideas.
Note: unlike spreadsheets and the tracker, mostly these mobile apps don't integrate with the forum here.
