You Can't Manage What You Can't Meaure

If you’ve worked with me in any capacity, you’ve heard me say, “You can’t manage what you can’t measure.”

But so often, we want to improve parts of our lives that appear to have no tangible metrics.

Take the example of wellness-related goals. It’s easy to measure vegetable servings eaten, cutting back on alcohol or caffeine, and moving your body.

When we start talking about improving mental and emotional wellness, like anxiety and stress, the metrics seem tougher to define and measure.

And this can apply to many areas where we’d like to see improvement:

Setting and enforcing boundaries that honor our time, energy, and values so we stop people-pleasing
Allowing ourselves to be fully present for the “little things” that bring us moments of peace or joy
How we show up in our personal and professional relationships
Acknowledging and letting go of the desire to control situations and outcomes over which we have little or no control
How we talk to ourselves
How well do we balance work and home life as remote leaders & workers

How do you measure how you’re growing/improving, OR a lack of progress for items like those listed above?

That’s where my 1 to 5 Scale comes in

Writing how you are feeling. — **Here’s how it works in 2 simple steps:**
Write down the issue(s) you want to improve/shift *(anxiety, pleasing people, being present, positive self-talk, living your values, etc.)*
Check-in at least once a day and **rate on a scale of 1-5** where you are.

1 = Indicates you’re failing it
5 = Indicates you’re nailing it

Let’s use anxiety as an example

A score of 5 means you don’t feel anxious at all; you’re completely at ease.

A score of 1 means your anxiety is overwhelming; it’s hijacking your life, and you want to crawl out of your skin.

Check-in with yourself right now. How anxious do you feel on a scale of 1–5?

Maybe you’re a 2.5… so you’re definitely feeling significant anxiety, which is tough.

BUT tracking this tangible metric is a tool that'll help you see and measure real progress over time.

Use the 1–5 scale as an opportunity to get curious, identify, and commit to at least ONE simple thing that would help you get even a decimal point closer to 5 today.

Yup. It's that simple to measure and transform the sticky things you're eager to improve.

After you start working with my 1 to 5 scale, I’d LOVE to hear from you about how it’s impacting your life. So drop me a note and let me know!

Ciao,
AP