![A top-down view depicting an end of month quality of life review. Two overlapping notebooks on a wood surface desk. on the left a smaller notebook with three month long tracking spreads: a sleep graph at the top, a habit tracker below it, and a migraine tracker below that. One page of the second notebook is visible with a handwritten journal entry about setting up a tracking spread. To the right of the notebooks is a large black skeleton clip and a clear gel pen. To the top of the notebooks are a wooden box containing wooden alphanumeric stamps, a roll of washi tape, and the corner of a white coffee mug on a white macrame coaster.](https://andreahunterstudio.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/Tracking-Spread-and-Handwritten-Post-1024x768.jpg)
It’s the end of a month and time for a quality of life check-in.
Documenting habits, mood and health etc., has become a popular genre in the notebook-keeping, journaling and self-help communities. The trick for me has been to find a way of doing it so that it actually results in improved quality of life. A way that reveals patterns, trends, and gaps. A way that invites a thoughtful, next-steps approach.
Overview of the Spread
- sleep: number of hours per night
- quality: measured each day by whether I did something
- active
- creative
- contemplative
- productive
- social
- migraine: severity of symptoms and tracking some medications
Month-End Check-In
- Sleep is pretty erratic. A result of medications and needing to sleep off migraine symptoms. Always a challenge, but this month was relatively good. New blackout drapes are helping.
- There are some gaps, mostly in the “active” category, but overall it’s okay. Working toward a more attainable active goal, especially for the rest of winter. (This tracker style is borrowed from Helen’s bullet journals at Journal With Purpose. Hers is a lot prettier than mine.)
- A few rough patches of migraine but nothing hitting a level three.
What do you track to improve your quality of life?
Stationery in the photo
- two notebooks: Stalogy and Leuchturm
- gel pen
- skeleton clip
- wooden alpha-numeric stamp set
- washi tape (currently sold out but purchased at this shop which has so many beautiful tapes)
P.S. A true story, multi-generational saga I just finished as an audiobook and loved.
P.P.S. Yesterday’s wordle in four, two very unlucky guesses, ugh.