Habit Tracker Generator - Productivity Tool

Habit Tracker Generator

A practical productivity tool for building better habits - This Rust application generates printable habit tracking sheets with flexible layouts, custom time periods, and multiple output formats.

Overview

The Habit Tracker Generator creates printable worksheets to help users:

Track daily habits with visual progress indicators
Build consistency through structured tracking
Analyze patterns in habit formation
Stay motivated with visual progress representation

Key Features

Flexible Time Periods

Generate trackers for any month or multi-month spans

Custom Habits

Add any number of personal habits and goals

Printable Format

Optimized for printing with clear, readable layouts

Multiple Outputs

Text and PDF formats for different use cases

Quick Start

Basic Usage

# Generate tracker for current month + next 2 months
cargo run

Custom Start Month

# Start from April 2025
cargo run 2025-04

Custom Habits

# Specify your own habits
cargo run 2025-04 "Running" "Reading" "Coding" "Meditation" "Hydration" "Vitamins"

Output Formats

Text Format (Default)

Generates a clean, printable text layout:

HABIT TRACKER - April 2025

Running     □ □ □ □ □ □ □ □ □ □ □ □ □ □ □ □ □ □ □ □ □ □ □ □ □ □ □ □ □ □ □ □
Reading     □ □ □ □ □ □ □ □ □ □ □ □ □ □ □ □ □ □ □ □ □ □ □ □ □ □ □ □ □ □ □ □
Coding      □ □ □ □ □ □ □ □ □ □ □ □ □ □ □ □ □ □ □ □ □ □ □ □ □ □ □ □ □ □ □ □
Meditation  □ □ □ □ □ □ □ □ □ □ □ □ □ □ □ □ □ □ □ □ □ □ □ □ □ □ □ □ □ □ □ □

PDF Format (Planned)

Future enhancement will include PDF generation with:

Professional formatting
Better typography
Print optimization
Custom branding options

Technical Implementation

Dependencies

[dependencies]
chrono = "0.4"           # Date/time handling
clap = { version = "4.0", features = ["derive"] }  # CLI parsing
anyhow = "1.0"           # Error handling

Core Logic

Date Calculation

use chrono::{Datelike, NaiveDate, Utc};

fn generate_months(start_date: NaiveDate, months: usize) -> Vec<MonthData> {
    (0..months)
        .map(|offset| {
            let date = start_date + chrono::Months::new(offset as u32);
            MonthData {
                year: date.year(),
                month: date.month(),
                days_in_month: days_in_month(date.year(), date.month()),
            }
        })
        .collect()
}

Layout Generation

fn create_tracker(habits: &[String], months: &[MonthData]) -> String {
    let mut output = String::new();

    for month in months {
        writeln!(output, "HABIT TRACKER - {} {}", month.month_name(), month.year)?;

        for habit in habits {
            write!(output, "{:<12}", habit)?;
            for _ in 0..month.days_in_month {
                write!(output, "□ ")?;
            }
            writeln!(output)?;
        }
        writeln!(output)?;
    }

    Ok(output)
}

Project Architecture

Command-Line Interface

#[derive(Parser)]
#[command(name = "habit-tracker")]
#[command(about = "Generate printable habit tracking sheets")]
struct Args {
    /// Starting month in YYYY-MM format (defaults to current month)
    start_month: Option<String>,

    /// Number of months to generate (default: 3)
    #[arg(short, long, default_value = "3")]
    months: usize,

    /// List of habits to track
    habits: Vec<String>,
}

Data Structures

#[derive(Debug)]
struct MonthData {
    year: i32,
    month: u32,
    days_in_month: u32,
}

#[derive(Debug)]
struct HabitTracker {
    habits: Vec<String>,
    months: Vec<MonthData>,
    output_format: OutputFormat,
}

Development Features

CI/CD Pipeline

The project includes comprehensive CI/CD with Woodpecker:

Automated Testing: Runs on every push
Multi-Platform: Tests across different Rust versions
Documentation: Auto-generates docs with mdBook
Release Management: Automated changelog generation

Development Tools

git-cliff: Automated changelog generation
mdBook: Documentation generation
Woodpecker CI: Continuous integration
Codeberg Pages: Automated deployment

Usage Examples

Monthly Planning

# Plan for Q2 2025
cargo run 2025-04 --months 3 \
  "Exercise" "Read 30min" "Write Code" "Meditate" \
  "Drink Water" "Take Vitamins" "Learn New Skill"

Weekly Habits

# Focus on weekly goals
cargo run 2025-04 --months 1 \
  "Monday Workout" "Tuesday Learning" "Wednesday Writing" \
  "Thursday Project" "Friday Review" "Weekend Planning"

Custom Time Periods

# 6-month habit building
cargo run 2025-01 --months 6 \
  "Wake Early" "Healthy Breakfast" "No Phone 1hr" \
  "Evening Walk" "Gratitude Journal" "Sleep by 10pm"

Habit Tracking Best Practices

Getting Started

Start Small: Begin with 3-5 habits maximum
Be Specific: Use clear, actionable habit descriptions
Track Consistently: Mark habits at the same time each day
Review Weekly: Assess progress and adjust as needed

Effective Habits

Positive Framing: Focus on what to do, not what to avoid
Measurable: Make habits quantifiable when possible
Achievable: Set realistic expectations
Relevant: Choose habits that matter to you

Progress Tracking

Visual Feedback: Use the checkbox system for satisfaction
Streak Building: Track consecutive days for motivation
Pattern Recognition: Look for trends in your data
Celebration: Reward milestones and consistency

Future Enhancements

Planned Features

PDF Export: Professional printable format
Data Import/Export: Save and load habit configurations
Progress Analytics: Statistics and trend analysis
Mobile Companion: Web interface for on-the-go tracking
Habit Templates: Pre-built habit collections
Reminder System: Notification integration

Technical Improvements

Web Assembly: Browser-based generation
Database Storage: Persistent habit data
API Endpoints: Integration with other tools
Internationalization: Multi-language support

Contributing

The project welcomes contributions in:

New Output Formats: PDF, HTML, CSV support
Habit Templates: Curated habit collections
UI/UX Improvements: Better CLI experience
Documentation: Usage examples and tutorials
Testing: Additional test coverage

View on Codeberg | Live Demo | Usage Guide