Years ago, I took a risk with students in my Writing Habit class. I gave them a simple table to track what they do for Process, Product Time and Self-care (the three habits that are the bedrock of this class and my own writing practice).
Here’s the risky part: I also gave them a sheet of colorful stars to stick on the tracking sheet when they showed up. I was worried they might be insulted by the kindergarten approach, but I knew how effective those silly little stars can be.
A few students had reservations, but even they were convinced by the third week. Not by me. By the students who used the stars and raved about how consistently they met their goals and how good it felt to keep the promises they made to themselves.
It’s hard to argue with success. It’s even harder to argue with pride and gleeful enthusiasm.
Writing habits make a writer (which is why I keep teaching the Writing Habit class). You can significantly reduce the amount of time it takes to build the habits you need when you track your progress.
And apparently you significantly increase the fun when you track your progress with stars.
Those silly stars and simple tracking sheet illustrate how the KISS principle applies to tracking your writing.
Click here to see a Sample Tracking Sheet completed with stars.
What tracking system do you use? Do you have a tracking trick you want to share?
More tricks for tracking your writing coming soon. And yes, I still hand out stars to students in my Writing Habit class.
Bane of Your Resistance 
You are so great and informative. It’s time for me to take a class of yours again. Karen Stinson karenstinson@mac.com 612-940-3276
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Thanks Karen! I sent you an email with info on upcoming classes.
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Can you show us a sample tracking sheet? Love the stars and want to give this a try.
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Hi Joel, I added a sample tracking sheet to the post.
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