A Better Way to Track Your Habits

This video introduces the Martin System, a paper-based habit tracker designed to overcome the common pitfalls of traditional habit tracking, such as the pressure of maintaining an infinite streak and giving up after a single failure. The system works in manageable two-week cycles, using simple markers for success, lazy failure, and uncontrollable misses, alongside dedicated notes to record the reasons for failures and a cycle review section for learning and adjustment. It emphasizes starting small, flexible scheduling for daily or specific days, and breaking long-term goals into concrete daily habits. The speaker also highlights the importance of tracking progress because "what gets measured gets managed," and promotes his Skillshare course on building strong habits and routines, which elaborates on defining goals and using external systems for consistency.

• ▶ 0:10 Starting a new habit feels promising, but many people fail long before reaching their goal because of obstacles like low motivation and bad weather.
• ▶ 0:37 Tracking progress helps you stick with a habit, based on the idea that "what gets measured gets managed."
• ▶ 0:51 Classic habit tracking has major downsides: the pressure of an infinite streak, and the way a single failure makes people quit tracking altogether.
• ▶ 1:32 The Martin System is an analog, paper-notebook habit tracker (no app) designed to start small, note failure causes, and evaluate progress every couple of weeks.
• ▶ 1:54 Tracking runs in roughly two-week cycles (first and last half of the month) to prevent overwhelm, letting you keep or drop habits each cycle.
• ▶ 2:25 Habits use three markers (success, failure, neutral for uncontrollable failures), plus dedicated notes and cycle review sections for learning and adjustments.
• ▶ 2:46 Set up the system by listing cycle days across the top and habits underneath, defining three details per habit: category, specific action, and days to do it.
• ▶ 3:11 Scheduling is flexible: mark habits as daily (D), weekdays (M-F), or specific days like Monday, Wednesday, Friday.
• ▶ 3:54 The system works for both output- and input-based goals, and helps break long-term goals into daily habits—e.g., dividing book pages by reading days per cycle.
• ▶ 4:30 Track each day with three symbols: “+” for success, “-” for lazy failure, and “○” when something out of your control prevented the habit.
• ▶ 4:43 For any failure, record the date and why in the Failure Notes section, then use these notes to recalibrate overly ambitious habits (e.g., reduce running from an hour to 15 minutes).
• ▶ 5:04 At the end of the cycle, write what you learned and tweaks in the Cycle Review section, then apply those notes to plan the next cycle—adjusting for priority shifts and free time.
• ▶ 5:20 The habits tracked should come from long-term goals, and Thomas promotes his new Skillshare class for learning how to define goals and break them into habits.
• ▶ 5:33 His new course, "Building Strong Habits and Routines," covers defining goals, turning them into habits, and using self-discipline plus external systems to stick with them.
• ▶ 5:51 Viewers can get a two-month free Skillshare trial via the link, which includes this course, his other productivity course, and thousands of other classes for under $10/month afterward.
• ▶ 6:23 He thanks viewers, asks for likes and subscriptions, and promotes his music channel before signing off with a farewell for 2020.

• ▶ 0:00 Introduction: Sponsor, Habit Challenges, and Classic Tracking (0:00 - 1:28) - Sponsored intro, why new habits are hard, and the pros/cons of classic progress tracking.
• ▶ 1:28 Introducing the Martin System and Tracking Markers (1:28 - 2:45) - Overview of the Martin System and its three marker types: success, failure, and neutral.
• ▶ 2:46 Setting Up the System and Choosing Habit Goals (2:46 - 4:23) - Quick setup tutorial, plus example habits and how to break down long-term goals.
• ▶ 4:23 Daily Tracking and Cycle Review (4:23 - 5:20) - How to track daily habits, write failure notes, and do a cycle review.
• ▶ 5:20 Skillshare Course Promotion and Outro (5:20 - 6:59) - Final promotion for the Skillshare course and closing calls to action.