{"id":891,"date":"2009-01-15T11:46:19","date_gmt":"2009-01-15T18:46:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.scotthyoung.com\/blog\/2009\/01\/15\/you-only-know-what-you-measure\/"},"modified":"2018-04-04T02:57:06","modified_gmt":"2018-04-04T09:57:06","slug":"you-only-know-what-you-measure","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.scotthyoung.com\/blog\/2009\/01\/15\/you-only-know-what-you-measure\/","title":{"rendered":"You Only Know What You Measure"},"content":{"rendered":"

I\u2019m amazed at how many people fail to take an easy step when working on a goal: writing things down<\/em>.\u00c2\u00a0 If you\u2019re trying to save more money, a good start is simply writing down the things you spend money on.\u00c2\u00a0 If you want to get in shape, write down what you eat and what you do when you exercise.<\/p>\n

Measurement isn\u2019t foolproof.\u00c2\u00a0 There are some disciplines it fairs poorly (relationships, learning, family).\u00c2\u00a0 And even in areas where it can excel, there is the risk that you end up measuring the wrong things<\/a>. But just because measurement isn\u2019t perfect doesn\u2019t mean it isn\u2019t an effective (and easy) way to make progress towards a goal.<\/p>\n

Here\u2019s a question to ask yourself if you recently made a new resolution for something specific: Have you written anything down to record your progress?\u00c2\u00a0 If the answer is no, you\u2019re missing a great opportunity to get better results with little effort.<\/p>\n

Your Memory and Intuitions are Often Wrong<\/h2>\n

Why is measurement powerful?\u00c2\u00a0 Because our intuitions about our progress are horribly flawed.\u00c2\u00a0 Memory is anecdotal.\u00c2\u00a0 We form assumptions based on looking at a few memorable examples and generalize.\u00c2\u00a0 So your evaluation of how healthfully you eat isn\u2019t based on an accurate sampling of your diet, it\u2019s based on a few vivid pictures of the salad or hamburger you ate last week.<\/p>\n

Measurement has the advantage of being unbiased.\u00c2\u00a0 You don\u2019t need any supernatural powers of unbiased memory recall to get insight.\u00c2\u00a0 You just need to look down at what you\u2019ve written and count.<\/p>\n

There is No Willpower (Only Strategy)<\/h2>\n

Self-discipline is a great character trait, but it\u2019s over-attributed to success. Reaching a target has a lot more to do with strategy than feats of willpower.\u00c2\u00a0 The reason measurement is powerful is that it helps you correctly aim your strategy.<\/p>\n

Over a year ago, I started the practice of recording everything I spent money on<\/a>.\u00c2\u00a0 Although this sounds obsessive, it actually takes little time and it helps me make smart decisions when spending my money.<\/p>\n

Before I did this practice, I had distorted perceptions about where I was spending most of my money.\u00c2\u00a0 I had assumed that small discretionary purchases (DVDs, books, etc.) were eating up a lot of my extra money.\u00c2\u00a0 After recording for a year, I realized that was only a small amount of money, and more was being spent eating at restaurants or going to events.<\/p>\n

Had I not written down my expenses, I would have been focused on the wrong things.\u00c2\u00a0 I would have tried to cut down my expenses by stopping buying new books, instead of looking for reasonable ways to limit my expenses at events, such as planning ahead to avoid a costly cab ride back.<\/p>\n

I\u2019ve applied the same logic to other areas of life as well, including my website income and health.\u00c2\u00a0 By writing things down, I was able to form a strategy that would actually target the biggest concerns.\u00c2\u00a0 Often simply writing things down on an ongoing basis would clue me into huge areas of waste or opportunity that I\u2019d been missing.<\/p>\n

Isn\u2019t Measurement too Mechanical?<\/h2>\n

Writing down everything you eat or spend money on sounds like an unnecessary chore.\u00c2\u00a0 I don\u2019t want to become a robot that itemizes everything I do, and I\u2019ll bet you don\u2019t either.\u00c2\u00a0 For people who have reservations about writing everything down, ask yourself two questions:<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. How much effort am I putting in to reach my goal?<\/li>\n
  2. Would I spend 5 minutes a day if I knew it would immediately inform me whether my strategy for reaching that goal had any chance of success?<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    I can\u2019t see the logic in being willing to exert months of effort towards a diet, budget, business or college course, and being unwilling to keep a pad of paper to make a few notes about it.<\/p>\n

    If it seems awkward writing things down, try sticking with it for a month.\u00c2\u00a0 After that, it will be automatic and won\u2019t seem outside of your routine.\u00c2\u00a0 You don\u2019t need to write down everything, just the things that are relevant to your current goals.<\/p>\n

    Look for Easy Record-Keeping<\/h2>\n

    I\u2019ve written before that the hard part about measuring is finding the right things to measure. Trying to measure a relationship or your social life sounds silly because any one measurement is meaningless.\u00c2\u00a0 But although some areas defy record-keeping, others make it obvious.\u00c2\u00a0 It doesn\u2019t take an advanced degree to see that health is a function of what you eat, or that frugality is the result of what you spend money on.<\/p>\n

    Figure out if your goal has easy records to keep that line up with results.\u00c2\u00a0 If it does, ask yourself why you aren\u2019t writing them down today.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    I\u2019m amazed at how many people fail to take an easy step when working on a goal: writing things down.\u00c2\u00a0 If you\u2019re trying to save more money, a good start is simply writing down the things you spend money on.\u00c2\u00a0 If you want to get in shape, write down what you eat and what you […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[12,4,680],"tags":[168,163,284],"class_list":{"0":"post-891","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-discipline","7":"category-goal-setting","8":"category-nc-productivity","9":"tag-measure","10":"tag-measurement-paradox","11":"tag-record-keeping","12":"entry"},"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nYou Only Know What You Measure - 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