[Template] How to Build a Habit Tracker in Notion (vs. a Gamified App)
Notion is an amazing all-in-one tool, and building a habit tracker is a popular use case. It's great for logging, but what if it's not... fun? Here’s how to build one, and what to do when you need more motivation.
How to Build a Simple Notion Tracker
The easiest method is to create a new database. You'll have one entry per day, and one property per habit.
Step 1: Create a New Database
Create a new page and select Table for the database type. Name it "Habit Tracker".
Step 2: Set Up Properties (Habits)
This is where you define your habits. The Name property will be your date. Add new properties for each habit.
- Rename the
Nameproperty (a "Title" property) toDate. - Add a new property, select
Checkbox, and name it "Meditate 🧘". - Add another
Checkboxproperty named "Gym Session 🏋️♂️". - Add another
Checkboxproperty named "Read 10 Pages 📖".
Step 3: Create a Daily Template (Optional)
Click the arrow on the blue "New" button and select "New Template". This lets you create a new entry every day (e.g., "Jan 1") and check off your boxes.
Step 4: Add a Progress Bar
To see your progress, add a Formula property. Edit the formula and paste this in (assuming your 3 habits are named exactly as above):
round((toNumber(prop("Meditate 🧘")) + toNumber(prop("Gym Session 🏋️♂️")) + toNumber(prop("Read 10 Pages 📖"))) / 3 * 100)Finally, change the formula's "Number format" to "Percent" and select "Ring" to show a visual progress circle.
When You Might Want More Than a Tracker
Notion is an incredible all-in-one workspace—perfect for organizing your entire life in one place. For many people, adding a habit tracker to their existing Notion setup makes perfect sense. You now have a functional tracker that lives alongside your notes, goals, and projects.
However, if you're someone who struggles with consistency and needs external motivation to stay on track, you might notice these limitations after a week or two:
- »Logging Can Feel Like a Chore. Opening Notion, finding the page, creating a new entry, and checking boxes is functional—but it's not inherently motivating. When tracking feels like admin work, it's easy to forget or skip days.
- »All Habits Treated Equally. A 60-minute gym session and a 10-minute meditation are both just "done" checkboxes. There's no way to weight different activities by effort or assign varying point values.
- »It's a Solo Experience. Notion trackers work great for self-accountability, but they lack the social motivation of competing with friends or seeing a live leaderboard update when someone crushes a workout.
- »No Clear Finish Line. A progress bar for one day is satisfying, but what about the bigger picture? There's no "win condition" or 30-day sprint to keep you pushing forward.
Stop Tracking Chores. Start Playing a Game.
Level Up! was built to make consistency *fun*. It takes your list of habits and turns it into a real game with points, goals, and a finish line.
Level Up! (Free Solo Challenges) vs. Notion:
Custom Points
In Level Up!, you assign points. A 🏋️♂️ **Gym Session** can be 10 points while 🧘 **Meditation** is 3 points. Effort is properly rewarded.
A "Wall of Wins"
Instead of a table, you get a beautiful Calendar View that fills up with your activities, giving you powerful visual motivation to "not break the chain."
A Finish Line
You set a real goal, like "500 Points in 30 Days". This gives you a clear target to sprint towards, making it much more motivating than an endless checklist.
Social (If You Want It)
Start solo for free. When you're ready, you can create a multiplayer challenge and invite friends to compete on a live leaderboard.