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7 Things I Learned from “Million Dollar Habits”: Tips for Digital Planner Users

Branden Bodendorfer
5 min readJun 13, 2024

If you’ve been on my page before, you know that I love a good book — especially one that can help improve my life. I recently finished re-reading Brian Tracy’s book and wanted to put together an inspired Million Dollar Habits Digital Planner Tips synopsis.

I like to try to tie what I learn back into digital planning because I think it’s such a powerful tool in and of itself. When you apply some of the principles from various experts, it makes the planning process even more powerful.

So without further ado, here are seven key lessons gathered from reading “Million Dollar Habits” by Brian Tracy:

1. The Power of Positive Thinking

A positive mindset is so important for success. Developing a habit of thinking positively can help you overcome challenges, stay motivated, and attract opportunities. Tracy emphasizes the importance of maintaining a positive mental attitude to achieve your goals.

2. Goal Setting and Planning

Setting clear, specific, and measurable goals is essential. Tracy outlines how to break down long-term goals into smaller, actionable steps and create a detailed plan to achieve them. This approach helps in maintaining focus and direction.

3. Time Management and Prioritization

Effective time management is a cornerstone of success. Learning to prioritize tasks based on their importance and urgency allows you to make the most of your time. Tracy introduces techniques like the 80/20 rule and time blocking to enhance productivity.

4. Continuous Learning and Personal Development

Investing in yourself through continuous learning and personal development is critical. Tracy encourages reading, attending seminars, and seeking out mentors to constantly improve your skills and knowledge, which in turn increases your value and potential.

5. Financial Discipline and Smart Investing

Developing good financial habits such as budgeting, saving, and investing wisely can lead to significant wealth accumulation over time. Tracy provides practical advice on managing money, avoiding debt, and making smart investment choices.

6. Health and Well-Being

Maintaining good physical and mental health is essential for sustained success. Tracy emphasizes the importance of regular exercise, a healthy diet, sufficient sleep, and stress management techniques to keep your energy levels high and your mind sharp.

7. Building and Maintaining Relationships

Successful people understand the value of strong personal and professional relationships. Tracy highlights the importance of networking, effective communication, and maintaining positive relationships with family, friends, colleagues, and mentors. These relationships provide support, opportunities, and enrichment in life.

By incorporating these seven lessons into your daily life, you can develop habits that contribute to achieving your goals, building wealth, and leading a more successful and fulfilling life. Tracy’s insights offer practical and actionable steps to transform your mindset and behaviors, setting you on a path toward long-term success.

Easier said than done, sometimes, which is why I’m a big believer in using a digital planner to help!

key2success planner habit tracker

My Million Dollar Habits Digital Planner Tips

Using a Goodnotes or OneNote digital planner from Key2Success to implement the principles from “Million Dollar Habits” involves integrating planning and tracking mechanisms that support the development of successful habits.

Visit the OneNote Digital Planner Shop
Visit the Goodnotes Digital Planner Shop

Here’s a guide on how to effectively use these digital tools to exercise the key points from the book:

1. Mindset and Attitude

  • Daily Affirmations and Gratitude: Create a section for daily affirmations and gratitude. Each morning or evening, write down positive statements about yourself and things you are grateful for to cultivate a positive mindset.
  • Reflective Journaling: Set up a journal section to reflect on your thoughts, challenges, and victories. This helps in maintaining a positive attitude and overcoming negative thinking patterns. (OneNote is especially easy to use when it comes to creating sections.)

2. Goal Setting

  • SMART Goals Template: Use templates or create sections to outline Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-bound (SMART) goals. Break down these goals into monthly, weekly, and daily tasks. (Find a good Goals Template)
  • Vision Board: Incorporate a digital vision board within your planner to visualize your long-term goals and keep yourself motivated.

3. Time Management

  • Daily and Weekly Planning: Utilize daily and weekly planning pages to schedule your tasks. Allocate time blocks for important activities and ensure you are focusing on high-priority tasks.
  • To-Do Lists: Create daily to-do lists and check them off as you complete tasks. This keeps you organized and ensures you stay on track with your goals.

4. Financial Habits

  • Budget Tracker: Set up a section for monthly budgeting. Track your income, expenses, savings, and investments to manage your finances effectively.
  • Expense Log: Maintain an expense log to record daily expenditures and identify areas where you can cut costs and save more.

5. Personal Development

  • Learning Schedule: Plan and schedule time for learning activities such as reading, courses, or workshops. Track the books you read and the skills you acquire.
  • Progress Tracker: Use habit trackers to monitor the consistency of your personal development activities, ensuring that you are making continuous progress.

6. Health and Energy

  • Exercise and Diet Logs: Create logs for tracking your exercise routines and dietary habits. This helps in maintaining physical health and high energy levels.
  • Sleep Tracker: Track your sleep patterns to ensure you are getting enough rest, which is crucial for overall well-being and productivity.

7. Relationships

  • Networking Plan: Outline a plan for building and maintaining professional relationships. Schedule regular check-ins with mentors, peers, and colleagues.
  • Personal Connection Tracker: Keep a record of important dates (birthdays, anniversaries) and regular personal interactions to nurture personal relationships.

Implementation Tips

  • Customization: Customize your digital planner with templates that suit your specific needs for each habit. Goodnotes and OneNote allow for adding images, stickers, and handwritten notes, making it easy to personalize your planner.
  • Consistency: Regularly update and review your planner. Consistency is key in habit formation, so make it a daily routine to use your planner.
  • Integration: Sync your digital planner with other devices and calendars to ensure you have access to your plans and goals wherever you are.

By using a digital planner from Key2Success, you can systematically apply the principles from “Million Dollar Habits,” track your progress, and make necessary adjustments to stay on the path to success.

Visit the OneNote Digital Planner Shop
Visit the Goodnotes Digital Planner Shop

As always, I’m happy to help answer questions or share tips!

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