To Improve Your Life, Start Measuring These Two Metrics

I’m not a particularly data-driven person. I’m actually convinced that sometimes, our gut feeling leads us to way better places than logic and rationality.

However, I also love having control over different areas of my life. That’s why I’ve been tracking some areas of my life for the past three years.

As Peter Drucker once said:

“You can’t manage what you can’t measure.”

That’s why I gave my best to create a lifestyle that allows me to control certain areas of my life so that I can continuously grow into a better person and improve my life.

Time

“Time is what we want most, but what we use worst.”

— William Penn

I’m an entrepreneur, and I’m running my business together with my boyfriend from home. And while most people preach the benefits of working from home, it also has some downsides. For example, you might feel productive while actually wasting the whole day cooking, loading the dishwasher, or doing the laundry. The other threat, however, is that you work too much and find yourself getting work done in the middle of the night instead of enjoying life.

That’s why I only track my productive time.

I use an app called Boosted, where I just need to press Start and Stop. It’s super simple but allows me to be aware of how I use my most precious resource in life: My time.

Money

“You must gain control over your money or the lack of it will forever control you.”

— Dave Ramsey

I like money. I work hard for it, and I don’t like not knowing where it flows. That’s why I tracked (almost) every penny I spent for the past three years.

By doing so, I experienced two things:

1. a) I’m much more cautious when spending money because I want to avoid regrets.
2. b) I managed to curb my fixed costs to a minimum due to the clarity I gained.

I’m using the Toshl app, and it takes me around two seconds to enter an expense. Easy peasy.

At the end of every month, my partner and I are taking around 15 minutes to reflect on our finances and see whether we had some unexpected income or expenses. This is quickly done, but inevitable for anyone who wants to build wealth.

Bottom Line

No matter if you’re an entrepreneur, student, or employee, you’re always the CEO of your life. And it’s up to you to manage several areas such as finances, relationships, career, and health. In life, there’s always room for improvement, but before you can improve something, you first need to measure it.