The power of tracking

Tracking is so powerful. My behaviors are changed simply by tracking them. Measuring the things I want in my daily routine offers me an objective view of my daily accomplishments. App time limits and usage analytics became my favorite iPhone features. Analytics showed how long I used Telegram, YouTube, and so forth, which was way more often than I thought. Social network services, including Instagram and LinkedIn, too. So, yesterday, I decided to limit time for all messengers and social network apps to 10 minutes, and I deleted the Youtube app from my iPhone.

My life has been changed significantly, since I limited app time. My longtime time killers—messaging apps and social network apps—were replaced by ebooks and audiobooks. It didn’t cost much, thanks to the Libby app, where I can borrow for free from public libraries. And it gets pretty easy to finish a book or two in a week.

At the end of last year, I made my New Year's resolution to improve my consistency. Consistency is one of my weaknesses, and I wanted to make a change. I started tracking things I wanted to do daily. Taking vitamins and other supplements, performing a small set of exercises, stretching, drinking 3 liters of water, sleeping early, and so on. And tracking them made a lot of things actually happen.

It’s pretty simple to recall all of my daily routines if you're tracking them. Checking them all at 10 p.m. and filling the gap for the day is enough to complete all the routines. If not tracked, I should recall every routine and complete it independently. Tracking also boosts my morale by allowing me to see and visualize my achievements at a glance.

As a byproduct, tracking showed me an important insight: what I was missing. It was prioritization. I didn’t prioritize more important ones among all my daily routines. I chose what could be done quickly and easily over what mattered more for my yearly goal, and the most important ones were frequently missed for a few days.