Wednesday, April 1, 2009

Making Every Day Count

Quality engineers tell us that the surest way to improve at something is to keep track of how you’re doing. If you want to make a more efficient light bulb, measure the efficiency of the light bulbs you’re making. If you want more money, keep a record of all the money you bring in and all the money you spend. If you want to lose weight, measure your weight and your waist.

A great deal of your success in life comes from the things you do from day to day. To help you measure your performance in any of these areas, Benjamin Franklin devised a simple record-keeping technique, which is described here:

One key tip to help you be happier

Keep track of how you’re doing every day on the habits you want to cultivate, and you stand a better chance of making every day count. If you know your results from the day will end up on a chart that you’ll be looking at, you take your actions a little more seriously — and you’re less likely to forget your everyday goals by getting caught up in the unique distractions of the day, which on a day like today might include: