How often, rather than how much

Making goals measurable can mean different things

We’ve all heard the advice that goals need to be SMART — specific, measurable, achievable, all that good stuff. In particular, what we measure is generally what we get done. So, when we start thinking of goals, we often try to attach numbers to them.

But numbers can take different forms. And some are problematic. Many a resolution to exercise for an hour a day has run up against a January bout of the flu that makes this almost impossible to pull off.

That doesn’t mean swearing off numbers all together though. It turns out there is a smarter way to measure things.