Monitoring

I like to lean on John Doerr a lot. “You can only manage what you measure” is a favorite quote of mine from him. If you want to make progress, you need to benchmark something. Telemetry is the process of monitoring and gathering data from a process, and since I need to manually track the metrics I care about, I had to develop a system for it. My approach is just to write it down. I am a big fan of journaling. Some people laugh at the notion of keeping a journal, but all of the great world leaders, thinkers, and artists kept journals. Sure, I will never write something similar to “Meditations” by Marcus Aurelius but that is not the intent.

I am a fan of Roterunner products, especially the hardback “Purpose Planner”. I keep a daily planner and log my priority actions for work, home, admin work, and personal projects. I also track my progress on five daily habits for the week, usually priorities that I set that I want to ingrain into my personal workflow a la James Clear. I also track my sleep and what I eat. I also utilize electronic tools for brain dumps when I cannot write. I like to use Day One to capture my thoughts in the morning. Finally, as far as my health metrics are concerned, I love Apple Health.

I track my weight everyday. I weigh myself at the same time every morning, after I wake up and use the restroom and before I eat breakfast. I can see over the years when I have gained weight and when I have lost it. I noticed I gain weight during the holidays, like most people, and when I do gain weight it is slow but steady. I suspect most people experience that, where one day they wake up and are like “wow how did I gain those fifty pounds?” I do not like the advice of people who say to rarely weigh yourself. Yes, our weight fluctuates, but over time trends do not lie. This isn’t about “feeling good” about something, it is about gathering data. Do you lose weight during the work week but gain some after the weekend? Maybe you should look at how much you dine out during the weekend and what you are eating. Is your new workout regime making you stronger but making your weight go up as well? You are probably bulking up and need to think about your routine and your nutrition. Are you losing a lot of weight but are not doing anything different? That is a good cause to call your doctor.

I also said on here I monitor my sleep. Now, about hitting that snooze button…