The 5-Minute Personal Health Tracking Spreadsheet

I've been tracking various aspects of my health for over 10 years.

I've used many different apps like MyFitnessPal and Cronometer for nutrition, Fitbit and Apple Watch for steps, and Oura ring for sleep. All of these work great on their own, but I felt something important was missing.

I always wanted a health tracking app that would evaluate multiple key areas of health, produce an overall health score using real data inputs, and gamify it in a way that encourages you to improve your health holistically over time.

I particularly like the idea of a home screen or dashboard where I can see an aggregated score from 0 to 100 that reflects how I’m performing on any given week or month against multiple health goals (e.g., body comp, nutrition, sleep, steps, and exercise).

Oura does a great job of this with sleep and readiness. It translates a bunch of different metrics like RHR, HRV, and body temp into a single number between 0 and 100 you can look at and have a good idea of where you stand.

A score between 0 and 100 works well because everyone is used to viewing performance from a scale of 0-100. We are trained to look at things this way from a young age, so it’s intuitive what constitutes a “good score.”

So basically, I wanted an Oura ring-like dashboard, but for holistic health. I haven’t found an app that does this, so I built my own “health tracking dashboard” into an Excel spreadsheet using formulas and conditional formatting.

The unexpected benefit of maintaining a spreadsheet

I've been using this personal health quantification spreadsheet for several years now and looking back, I'm amazed at how much its helped me transform my daily habits and overall health.

Since I started using this spreadsheet:

• I went from eating 2-3 servings of fruits and vegetables per day to 4-6 servings per day
• I went from taking 5,000-6,000 steps per day to 10,000 steps or more per day
• I went from sleeping less than 7 hours per night, on average, to more than 7 hours per night, on average
• I went from exercising 60-90 minutes per week to 2-3 hours per week

Eventually, I came to realize something. Summarizing all my inputs into a score was nice to see and provided some motivation. But that was only a minor benefit.

The unexpected (and much larger) benefit came from entering each data point into the spreadsheet and reviewing the data day in and day out.

Even though this practice only took a few minutes each day, the accountability effect it had on me was huge. Like I knew if I didn’t eat any fruits and veggies, I was going to have to enter a big goose egg in my spreadsheet for that day.

On a micro level, it’s immediate feedback (which helps you improve quickly).

On a macro level, this habit compounds over time into an incredibly acute sense of self-awareness in each of these key areas of health.

Building the habit of data entry and review

Whether you like it or not, recording and reviewing a dozen metrics each day for years will force you to know yourself and your tendencies better than ever. It will expose your weaknesses and pinpoint exactly where you need to focus.

The value of this practice is priceless and therefore something I wouldn’t trade for any other app.

So here’s my surprising realization:

Even if the dream app I described earlier existed and automated everything I’m doing in my spreadsheet, I would continue to manually enter my data and update my spreadsheet daily because it’s that powerful. (I maintain a similar habit for tracking my spending in a spreadsheet and as a result I also have a very good handle on my personal finances).

How you build the data entry and data review habit is totally up to you.

But if you don’t have time to build a nice spreadsheet and want to start reaping the benefits of health tracking right away, this is a done-for-you solution with the built-in health dashboard and 0-100 scoring (same one I described earlier that I use myself).

This tool will help you track the 20% of health metrics that will give you 80% of your results and more in just 5 minutes per day.

Additional benefits of personal health tracking

In addition to motivation, accountability, and self-awareness, here are a few more benefits you can expect from using this spreadsheet:

Better lifestyle choices: Studies have shown people who track their health are more likely to make healthier lifestyle choices. This will extend beyond just the areas of focus in the spreadsheet. Once your fundamentals are solid, you will naturally be inclined to optimize other areas of health.

Personalized health management: Tracking allows for a more personalized approach to health management. You can share your data with healthcare providers to have more intelligent and meaningful conversations with them and receive tailored advice and treatment plans specific to your lifestyle.

Goal setting and continual improvement: One of the biggest benefits of using this spreadsheet is you will become really good at setting realistic health goals and leveling up once they become too easy. With the customized goal setting targets, you will constantly be improving no matter where you are in your health journey.

Tangible progress: Keeping a visual record of your health week after week and month after month provides a tangible way to see progress over time which is something we all want. One of my favorite things to do in the spreadsheet is look back at my yearly dashboard from a few years ago and see how much my stats have improved.

Peace of mind: Finally, knowing you are actively monitoring your health can provide peace of mind. It reassures you that you are taking proactive steps to maintain your health, which can reduce anxiety and stress related to potential health issues (this was a huge one for me).

If all this sounds good to you, then I’d love for you to join me in using this tool to power your own health journey.

Here’s what you’ll get:

• Downloadable Excel version with step by step instructions on how to use the spreadsheet
• Instructions on how to convert the Excel file to Google Sheets (if you don't have Excel or prefer to use Google Sheets)
• Access to the demo video below for easy reference
• Free lifetime upgrades

Watch the 13-minute demo video below to see exactly how it works so you know exactly what you're getting before you purchase:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qQYL2dkf488

Thanks for reading and I hope to see you on the inside.

P.S.

If you need additional support tailored to your exact situation, I also offer personalized 1-on-1 accountability coaching for health tracking with limited spots available each month. If this interests you, fill out this form to see if you’re a good fit. This spreadsheet is included in the accountability coaching for free.

Before you invest in either the spreadsheet or coaching, I highly recommend making a much smaller investment in my course: The 10-Minute Personal Health Tracking System to see if this is even something you are interested in doing. This course will teach you everything you need to know about how to improve your health through tracking whether you use this spreadsheet or not.