“If you can’t measure it, you can’t manage it”. A popular quote often attributed to the management guru Peter Drucker. I must mention that not everyone agrees with this kind of thinking and you can read more about that here in this old article from Forbes, written by Liz Ryan.
Let’s assume for sake of conforming that Drucker was right. Have you thought about what you would measure in your own life? Does it adequately allow you to manage your life better? If you had a measurable scorecard for our life, what would be on it? Below are some ideas of things I would love to measure to make my life better. They are not your standard KPIs.
1. Time spent talking to spouse/children/family/significant other
My 8 year old son broke it down to me this week. He explained that he spends 6 hours at school everyday, meaning that he spends 18 hours at home. Of that 18 hours 11 of them are spent asleep. 2 of them spent preparing to sleep or preparing to leave for school. This leaves 5 hours of leisure time per day for him. But here is the clincher, I typically only see him for 1 hour per day before bedtime after I arrive from work. That hour has to be spent talking, it can’t be spent on Twitter or in front of the TV.
2. Number of days of exercise per week
A simple one this time. I consider one of the keys to remaining physically fit and contributing to one’s health is to exercise regularly. I find for me it is more important to have regular activity of moderate intensity rather than sporadic activity of varying intensity. My goal over a 7 day week is to achieve a minimum of 4 days of exercise. So if I have been lazy midweek, I cant take the weekend off.
3. Number of pages read per day
I have a friend who easily reads a book every month. How does he do it? He aims to read a few pages per day. His goal is 20 pages per day as a minimum of whatever he is reading. Some days more than 20, but no day with less than 20. How many pages did you read today?
4. No phones before 8am
The most useless use of my time is spent browsing social media on my phone. The most stressful days are those that start with me reading work email before I go to the office. Therefore, this KPI is binary. I’m either doing it or I’m not.
5. Days starting and ending with prayer per week
Listed here as number 5, but probably the most important for me and my source of strength. As a practicing Catholic Christian it is very important for me to spend time every day in prayer. Starting the day in this way, rather than on my phone reduces my stress. Ending the day in this way calms me down.
So in closing, I have listed some KPIs that work for me. As you progress during this new year, are there some KPIs you wish to implement in your own life? Would measuring these help you to manage your life? Or simply manage your life better?
Thank you for reading through these personal thoughts of mine 😊
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