How to Plan for Tracking Your Metrics

Get your what, your why—and then define your metric

Think deeply about what you want to achieve and why you want to achieve it, and then figure out what metric you’re going to use to measure your success

My quality-not-quantity alter ego wants to butt in here and say something about how we’re usually aiming to achieve a particular feeling, and we believe that achieving something external will give us that feeling. If we want to lose weight, it might be because we want to be more healthy, but it could be because we want to feel more sexy or more self-confident. If we want to learn the piano, it might be because we love music, but it could be because we want to impress somebody in particular (think Bill Murray in “Groundhog Day”).

It’ll help you to find relevant metrics if you’re really honest with yourself about your why. (You might even find you can cut straight to the feeling you want without changing a thing — like, just decide to be happy, without pinning it to “I’ll be happy when ….” Just sayin’.)

You’re welcome to use a subjective metric (such as giving yourself marks out of 10 for how happy you feel on a daily basis) rather than an objective one. That’s not a problem — so long as the metric feels relevant, and there’s some way of recording it to assess your progress over time.

Write down the metric you’ve chosen.

Decide how to celebrate often

Nothing succeeds like success, so you’ll find it much easier to maintain momentum if you pass milestones on a frequent basis.

To use a weight-loss example, you might want to measure ounces rather than pounds if you find it hard to lose weight. So long as you’re heading in the right direction, the speed at which you’re going doesn’t matter so much.

In fact, you deserve to celebrate the first time you begin to manifest the kind of behavior that’ll help you reach your goal. Even if you haven’t lost a single ounce, the first time you push your plate away with food still on it or manage to drive past your favorite fast-food joint without going in, celebrate! This is great! You’re breaking the habits that got you overweight, and you’re on track for weight loss! This is huge!

Write down the milestones you’ll celebrate.

Decide how and where you’re going to record your progress

If it’s deeply personal and private, you might want to record it in a notebook or on your smartphone, or there might even be an app that can help you keep track.

If your goal is work-related, you might want to keep an open window on your computer that shows a chart or spreadsheet tracking your progress.

The most effective way, if appropriate, is to mark your metrics somewhere where you’ll see them often so you get to reinforce your sense of reward several times a day.

Write down your plan for recording your progress. And do it.

Keep your eye on the bigger picture

Don’t get discouraged by the little glitches or occasional backward-progress days that are bound to happen along the way. So it was your spouse’s birthday, you went out for dinner, and the next morning you’d put on a pound. No biggie. In the overall scheme of things, we’re talking about a lifetime of healthful eating, so that pound isn’t going to stay there for long.

Write down how much backward progress you’ll forgive yourself for before you get yourself back on track.

Come up with a contingency plan

One reason many people shy away from metrics is if the metrics start going the wrong way, they give up. Not taking metrics allows you to delude yourself that everything is still okay.

But this is the whole point of metrics. They’re an invaluable tool for telling us what’s working and what isn’t. Progress isn’t always linear, and sometimes we have to go sideways or backward in order to go forward. Truly successful people don’t always come up with the winning strategy right away. But by measuring their results consistently over time, they identify problems swiftly and take appropriate action.

So before you start measuring, think about what you’ll do if your progress stalls or becomes backward progress. What are the possible glitches? How can you get back on track? If it was due to a lapse in motivation, how can you get remotivated? Who can you reach out to, what can you read, or what online resources can you use to support you? The main thing is not to let a temporary blip derail your efforts.

Write down the potential glitches you might encounter and the strategies you’ll take to get back on track.

By the way, don’t be afraid to change your metrics. If you find the metric you initially chose doesn’t feel relevant or the scale isn’t encouraging you, change it. Nothing is set in stone. This is all about finding a metric that serves you and spurs you on toward your goal. Just be honest with yourself, and make sure you’re changing metrics for the right reasons — and not to give yourself an easy ride.

Practice self-compassion (aka “the f*** it” option)

Metrics can be brutal. Humans hate losing around twice as much as we enjoy winning, which is why I haven’t weighed myself in eight years. I used to weigh myself, obsessively, every day. When I did road trips across America, I took bathroom scales with me. How sad is that?

Then, when I read the research about the losing/winning response, I realized that weighing myself would always be a net negative. If I lost a pound I’d be 1x happy, but if I gained a pound, I’d be 2x unhappy. Seemed like a really bad deal. So I stopped.

I thought I’d balloon to blimp-size if I didn’t monitor and control. But I didn’t. Obviously I can’t tell you I haven’t gained a single pound despite not weighing myself because I wouldn’t know. But after eight years, my clothes still fit. And I have freed up a lot of headspace for things more interesting than what I am or am not going to eat.

So what I’m saying here is: Metrics are useful, but they’re a tool. Ultimately, you’re in charge. If metrics are making your life better and helping you achieve your goals, use them. If they’re becoming yet another thing to beat yourself up over, screw ‘em.

And be happy.