How to Create a Habit and Mood Tracker in Your Bullet Journal
By Kylie Kreimeyer of @bujo.kylie
Hi everyone! Kylie here from @bujo.kylie, and I’m going to show you step by step how to create your own themed habit and mood trackers using Zebra Pen products!
As a journaler, I use habit and mood trackers daily. These trackers help reveal patterns in my moods and behaviors that allow me to notice triggers, develop healthy habits, and improve my general wellbeing, turning even bad days into colorful works of art. So, let’s get started!
Step 1: Gather Your Supplies
First thing’s first, gather your supplies. For this tutorial, you will need Zebra Zensations Technical Drawing Pen, Zebra Sarasa Fineliner, Zebra Mildliner Double Ended Highlighter & Creative Tool, and, of course, your favorite journal or sketch book.
This was my first experience with the Zensations Technical Drawing Pen, and can I just say, it’s my new go-to, period! The nib has the perfect amount of friction on the paper. After all, I personally don’t like a nib that is too slippery. As a lefty, I also need ink that dries fast to avoid accidental smudges. The Zensations Technical Drawing Pen ticks every box! The Mildliner Highlighters are a favorite amongst the bullet journaling community. Between the color variations and different nib options, you can add color to any and all of your creations. Plus, the Sarasa Fineliner markers add the perfect touch of detail!
Step 2: Choose a Theme and Draft in Pencil
Next, you’re ready to choose a theme and draft your layout. For March, I chose a theme of umbrellas! I decided I wanted to track my moods with tiny umbrella doodles, and track my habits using small calendars, decorating the page with more small umbrellas to match.
Using pencil first is optional—after all, not everyone needs to make a rough draft. Personally, I lay out every spread in pencil first. Using pencil can help you avoid simple mistakes and misspellings. It was particularly helpful when I was trying to fit 31 tiny umbrellas on one page! Make sure you leave space for headers, and a key for your mood tracker. Once you’re ready to use pen, you can dive in confident that your trackers will look exactly as you pictured them.
Step 3: Outline with Zebra Zensations Technical Drawing Pen
Now that you’re happy with how you’ve laid out your trackers, it’s time to bring them to life with the Zensations Technical Drawing Pens! The 6-pack of Technical Drawing Pens come in an assortment of point sizes, including 0.1mm, 0.2mm, 0.3mm, 0.4mm, 0.5mm, and 0.8mm.
For this monthly spread, I first used the 0.1mm nib for each doodle. To make my doodles stand out, I then traced the outlines with a slightly larger nib. For the smaller mood tracker doodles, I used a 0.3mm nib to outline. For the larger doodles on the habit tracker and 8x8 tracker boxes, I used a 0.5mm nib.
You can label your mood tracker doodles with corresponding days of the month if you like to know exactly what feelings happened on which days. I use mine as a day-to-day accountability system to make sure I’m not ruminating on bad days, so a general overview of my moods works perfectly for my needs.
Step 4: Add Shade
Alright, now you’re ready to make your doodles pop. Here’s a quick pro tip I wish I’d learned earlier—a little gray shading adds depth and makes your doodles jump right off the page! For habit tracker boxes, it’s easiest to use the Mildliner Double Ended Highlighter & Creative fine bullet tip. For everything else, shade with the gray Sarasa Fineliner. First, pick which direction the light is coming from in your design. Wherever the light wouldn’t hit is where you add your shading.
Step 5: Add Headers & Color Where Needed
The next step is to add your headers, and color wherever it is needed using Mildliner Highlighters and Sarasa Fineliners. First, add the headers. I used the bullet tip on the Mildliner Highlighters to letter the titles pictured. Then, I outlined all my lettering with Sarasa Fineliners.
Next, add color where it’s needed. For mood trackers, try to pick a distinctly different color for each emotion when filling out the key. This will help to avoid confusion if you have to reference the mood tracker later on. For habit trackers, it helps to highlight the titles on each box so you can quickly fill it out. I like to use alternating colors to add a little distinction between boxes.
Step 6: Fill it out!
You did it! Your themed mood and habit trackers are ready for the month. Just fill out one doodle per day with the colors corresponding to the moods you felt. For the habit tracker, just fill one dot per habit each day corresponding with the completion of that habit.
Time to watch your pages fill with color throughout the month! I hope this has helped you to create your own themed mood and habit trackers. For more tracker and bullet journaling inspiration, check out my Instagram Page at @bujo.kylie and head to Shannon Hakala’s blog post on 3 Ways to Use a Bullet Journal to Stay Active.
