Building routines

How to make a routine you’ll keep doing, and numbers that tell you something.

Start with what you already do

Three or four steps you do most days already. Add more once the routine is automatic.

Choose metrics that answer a question

Record a number because you want to know something: whether sleep affects your mood, whether exercise is regular. One or two metrics are enough.

Set the scale

The lowest and highest values decide how the history is shaded. For sleep, 4 and 8 hours: a 5-hour and a 7-hour night then look clearly different, instead of everything sharing one shade.

One question per reflection

Short questions get answered. “What went well today?” is easier to start than a blank page.

Look at the week, adjust the routine

If a step is never done, change it or remove it. The routine should fit your days, not the other way round.