He puked everywhere.
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After a hotdog, a bag of popcorn, cotton candy, and dippin dots, the nachos put his four-year-old stomach over the edge.
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It was then, having brought my son home from a Washington Capitals game (where he ate his little heart out), I remembered the project management adage:

“What gets measured gets done.”

It started with him finishing the hotdog.
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“Wow bud, I can’t believe you finished that! You’ve got a big appetite,” I told him.
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From that point forward he asked for more food, which he ate, and I kept expressing how pleased I was until... the point of no return.
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Or should I say the point that everything returned. 🤢🤮
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Rookie dad mistake.

It’s true, what gets measured gets done.

Just like a child who continues to do a job well when congratulated for a job well done, when you measure yourself against a certain standard you’ll naturally find ways of living up to it.
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Take, for example, a two year study published by Cornell University in 2015. They showed that tracking and charting your weight daily is “effective for both losing weight and keeping it off...”

Think of that. The only thing you have to do to start losing weight is track how much you weigh.

😮
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What gets measured gets done can be applied to more than just weight loss though.
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Want to write a book? Track words written per day against a target.
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Want to bench press 200lbs? Track your weight lifted every workout against a goal.
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Want to wake up early every morning? Track what time you wake up.
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Simple.
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What gets measured gets done.
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Just don’t measure how much your kid can pack in their little stomach. They’ll get it done, and you’ll see it all again.
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PS. That pic is of my notebook habit tracker. Yes I draw it out every month. Yes I color in little boxes everyday. Yes I crush my goals because of it.

Email me to crush yours.

About the Author

Michael Mehlberg

HUSBAND, FATHER, ENTREPRENEUR, BUSINESS STRATEGIST, AUTHOR, FITNESS NUT, ORGANIZATION FREAK, PRODUCTIVITY JUNKIE

I help high-achieving entrepreneurs organize their brain and schedule so they can organize their life and business.

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