5 top tracking apps for your 2018 goals

The end of 2017 is right around the corner, and if you’re like most people your brain is turning towards setting goals for yourself for 2018. Also, you may be realizing that you’re about to embark on a familiar cycle: setting a bunch of grand plans for yourself for the coming year that quickly fall apart, sometimes before you even get to shout “Happy New Year!” If this sounds like your typical end-of-year behavior, don’t feel too bad—you’re not alone! According to a recent Huffington Post article, “Only 8 percent of people actually keep their New Year’s resolutions, according to one commonly cited statistic. There are many reasons people can’t stick to their resolutions, from setting too many of them to getting derailed by small failures. Setting overly ambitious and restrictive goals―like quitting sugar when you haven’t already been making small changes to improve your diet―is one major cause of failure. While you might initially feel inspired and energized by setting blowout goals for 2017, the luster of these resolutions fades quickly when we realize how difficult they are to keep.” That said, setting goals for 2018 may seem daunting―but there is a path towards success and there are tools for helping you stay on track. These days, you don’t need anything more than your smartphone and a helpful tracking app to keep you focused and on target as you work towards your goals. There are a ton of goal-tracking apps available, and choosing the right one for you can become a big project in and of itself. Take a deep breath—we’ve gone ahead and selected five of the most helpful goal-tracking apps available to help you achieve your goals in the new year.

1. GoalsOnTrack

Billing itself as “goal software for high achievers,” GoalsOnTrack empowers users to create SMART-based goals (Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic, and Timely) and provides lots of useful features to help users stay on track—like braking down large, long-term goals into easier-to-manage and organize milestones and subgoals. GoalsOnTrack also allows you to set focused action plans, recurring tasks (with helpful reminders!), and task schedules that are easy to update and adjust with you. It even has a journaling option and customizable music and photo features to help keep you motivated and visualize success.

2. Coach.me

This handy habit-tracking app features a free mobile version as well as customizable fee-based options, which even includes a real coach to help keep your goals for 2018 within reach. Once you set a habit for yourself using the app, you can begin tracking your daily progress, set helpful targets and reminders, view weekly and monthly behavior trends, and even connect with a supportive community for encouragement and guidance—all designed to help you form new and positive habits in your life.

3. Strides

Strides is a free, an all-in-one goal and habit tracking app that features a variety of helpful tracking templates that you can use, or ones that you can customize. It has a host of helpful visuals that are accessible from a central dashboard, which makes it easy to see your progress (or lack thereof) and retool accordingly. Users of the free app version can track up to 10 goals at a time on any of their iOS-based devices; users who require greater flexibility and power can take advantage of the fee-based Strides Plus premium plan.

4. Way of Life

Way of Life calls itself “The Ultimate Habit Builder and Breaker” and features a wide range of helpful visual tracking features, including pie charts, bar charts with easy-to-read trend lines, and a scoreboard that provides instant feedback. It also allows you to tag, skip, share, and archive goals, set multiple daily reminders, take notes, and export to email and other apps. The free version lets you track up to three goals, habits, or behaviors that you want to increase or decrease; fee-based options let you unlock additional features and resources.

5. ATracker

Is your busy life a daily struggle to get everything done and keep track of it all? If so, then ATracker just might be the lifesaver you need. This time-tracking app is designed to make sure that you’re maximizing your time each day towards effectively pursuing your goals. The app lets you track the time you spend on a variety of chosen tasks and view daily breakdowns in pie charts or bar graphs—so you can quickly see how your waking hours are being spent and make adjustments accordingly. There are free and fee-based versions available, based on your individual needs and goals. There you have it—the top tracking apps to help you set your goals for 2018 and stay on track. All you need to do is select the one that seems best for you, and not let excuses get in the way of you achieving your goals.