Sebastian,

The videos are fantastic, thank you so much for sharing. Up until now instead of tracking I was adding another thing to track to my tracking template each day rather than tracking...ironic I know.

I guess seeing your list makes me want to be a better person. Upon further thinking about it, it'd be like stepping on the court with Michael Jordan and trying to hit 3 point shots (and track 20 variables) all day long to fit in. I needed to step back and realize it's alright to do a couple easy layups (track 2-5 things) first and build that confidence/habit.

Again, thank you for providing such a great resource,
Kurtis

Sebastian, I respect your candor and earnestness, and thanks for posting this. I have to admit I found myself laughing out loud with your mentions of "maintenance." I think I thought it was funny because I didn't really know what it meant, at least until you explained it at the 9 min mark.

One thing you might want to think about is getting your quant data into a format that will make it easier to do post hoc analysis. So, e.g., instead of saying "yes" to taking fish oil pills, write 1 for "yes" and 0 for "no." That way you can calc a quick percentage of the # of days you get it done.

Sebastian, I respect your candor and earnestness, and thanks for posting this. I have to admit I found myself laughing out loud with your mentions of “maintenance.” I think I thought it was funny because I didn’t really know what it meant, at least until you explained it at the 9 min mark.

One thing you might want to think about is getting your quant data into a format that will make it easier to do post hoc analysis. So, e.g., instead of saying “yes” to taking fish oil pills, write 1 for “yes” and 0 for “no.” That way you can calc a quick percentage of the # of days you get it done.

Hey Kurtis, thanks for the kind words. Yes, I definitely recommend you start with just a few things.

Nowadays, I roll out of bed, take vitamins, stretch, and do 30 situps almost immediately without any decision or deliberating about it or willpower. But when I first started, I had to constantly remind myself. Sometimes I'd stretch in the morning, sometimes I'd remember later in the day, sometimes I'd forget.

So technically I'm tracking/working to complete those three things, but actually, it's automatic.

I don't think it's practical to try to remember/complete 20 new things at once. Thus I think, start with 3-5 things, stick with those until they're near automatic, and then add more.

Cheers and best wishes,

Sebastian

> One thing you might want to think about is getting your quant data into a format that will make it easier to do post hoc analysis. So, e.g., instead of saying “yes” to taking fish oil pills, write 1 for “yes” and 0 for “no.” That way you can calc a quick percentage of the # of days you get it done.

Yup, good thinking, I did start doing that. Well, I just write "No", and then I count up my success rates at the end of the week. Yup, good thinking there, cheers for the comment.

The video's are awesome - thanks for posting it! Have you thought about doing more video posts / podcasts? Going off my experience so far:

Like Andy said, I do the Yes / No thing too. One thing I do differently - I write the Yes in green, and the No in red (I've set up a daily template with a Yes / No in their respective colors so its easy to copy and paste). It allows me to see at a glance how successful I was. And I'm sure there's something in psychology about using colors and visual cues, but I haven't looked it up.

It's interesting that you track how much time you spend doing each task - how do you track procrastination (good or bad)? I tend to take 5-10 minute (okay, maybe longer when I'm on Hacker News) breaks every 30-60 minutes, even if I'm being productive, but that's just how I work.

Another thing I'm starting next week - writing 750 words as soon as I wake up to clear my head. Will update on how it goes. I've found having a morning 'warm-up' and night 'cool down' routine works really well, although I'm still struggling shutting off my brain and going to sleep on time. Going to try reading fiction before I fall asleep to see if that helps.

Oh - and for tracking food, I've been taking photos of everything I eat, and got a few friends in on it. Makes it a fun competition and really easy to do!

Cheers on the post Sebastian!

> The video’s are awesome – thanks for posting it!

Thanks! :)

> Have you thought about doing more video posts / podcasts?

I'd consider it, definitely, sure... probably not something I'll do a lot just for the hell of it, but it's definitely worthwhile for things that need a more rich medium.

> Like Andy said, I do the Yes / No thing too. One thing I do differently – I write the Yes in green, and the No in red (I’ve set up a daily template with a Yes / No in their respective colors so its easy to copy and paste). It allows me to see at a glance how successful I was. And I’m sure there’s something in psychology about using colors and visual cues, but I haven’t looked it up.

Ah, I like that idea. I like MLO which is pretty spartan, but I can see the value in color coding. Might be something for me to consider later.

> It’s interesting that you track how much time you spend doing each task – how do you track procrastination (good or bad)? I tend to take 5-10 minute (okay, maybe longer when I’m on Hacker News) breaks every 30-60 minutes, even if I’m being productive, but that’s just how I work.

I don't have a hard and fast rule. Generally speaking -

-If I completely switch tasks, I'll mark it down on the tracking. So you might see something like "(60 minutes maintenance, 10 minutes reading)" if I worked for 30 minutes, read for 10 minutes, worked for 30 minutes.

-If I go make a coffee or go to the bathroom or whatever, I just lump it in with whatever time I'm doing. I think the gain in precision in separating out little tiny things isn't worth the effort it'd take.

-If I switch to something semi-productive for a really short time, like 2-3 minutes, I might just ignore it. Like, if mid-reading I remember I need to check if someone confirmed an appointment, then I might check my email and answer one email while I'm in there. I'll just ignore that.

-I try really, really, really hard not to switch into pure-distraction-based tasks when it's not scheduled. I mean, it happens, but it's something I work against. I think making distraction a default behavior when confused can stop difficult important things from getting done.

> Another thing I’m starting next week – writing 750 words as soon as I wake up to clear my head.........

I like that, and the other habits you're implementing/talking about. Really good stuff, cheers for the comment and looking forward to hearing more about the writing too.

Hi Seb, i too am doing this kind of life tracking but i am not able to do it consistently, a week or max 10 days n then i leave it for weeks...also i dont feel the same energy, for the task that i marked as 'To Do Tommorrow',as i felt when i wrote it! It happens esp on my off days.Its not that i m not disciplined or lack willpower but still.. i read tons of self help books but the motivation doesn't last long.. what shall i do
Also what do u think is the real purpose of our life, i want to live a life like no one ever(just diff, simple and worth a life) but i feel like one among the herd! Same things!
why am i born?

Hey Rohan, I'll write up a reply on the blog for this for tomorrow... look for that in about 24 hours, it's a good question. Cheers.

Ever post a reply for that?

Also.. your video is a bit too big for the new site.. the first video overlaps the right.