When seeking to change your habits for the better, measuring the right things is important for two reasons. First, measurements are feedback. If you measure something that you can’t control, you’re more likely to get discouraged and give up. What you measure informs how you think about yourself and your ability to continue. Success, on the other hand, leads to the confidence required to continue. And that’s ultimately what we want with lifestyle changes.
The second reason why measuring the right things is important is because it gives us a better idea of what we may need to change going forward. If, for example, you didn’t meet your goal of leaving work an hour early to exercise, that could mean that trying to leave an hour early was too difficult given the situation and circumstances in your life. Perhaps you try a half hour early. Or perhaps it could mean that leaving early is less likely than being able to come in a little later, and maybe you move your goal to morning exercise a few times a week. Or perhaps you try to break away and come back over lunch. The feedback you get from measuring your ability to do any of these things will help you fine-tune your path forward.
Progress toward your goal is feedback, but so is a lack of progress.
Measure the right things.
Measure the Right Things