Like photons, we behave differently when observed.
In one of his lectures on behavior biology, Robert Sapolsky mentioned that flashing a pair of eyes for 0.1s when people are playing games - faster than we are consciously aware of, people cheat less --- you are being watched.
We all behave differently when there’s an audience, an observer.
We get self-conscious, we want to impress others. Sometimes we feel less alone and get bolder, sometimes we get more nervous and screw up.
I heard that once a biomarker becomes a “marker”, it becomes less good as a measurement - because people are now aware of it and will try to influence it.
It’s so weird but true, but what gets measured gets fixed.
In Tim Ferriss’s book The Four Hour Body, he mentioned an example of a guy losing a lot of weight by simply measuring his weight for a year - and he made a deliberate effort to NOT change his life style. He plotted his weight by time and defined a range of acceptable weight, and a downward trend within it as how he wanted it to go, and like magic, his weight just went down like that.
In the same book, Tim also mentioned when people take a photo of each meal before eating it, they eat less.
Layne Norton mentioned in a Huberman podcast episode that if you write down everything you put in your mouth, it’ll help you follow your diet.
To record, to simply be aware, has real power.
Earlier this year, I set a routine of running 6 miles a day, 6 days a week. I had a fitbit on my wrist that recorded every run - not for posterity, posterity rarely cares (the universe doesn’t give a flying f*ck bout you), but to help hold myself accountable. And I found it helpful. Another thing is, knowing that this run will soon appear on my fitbit page generated a sense of audience (though I have zero friend on fitbit and know nobody would see it), that made me feel less alone as I ran.
Hence I believe the power of recording, of logging stuff, of holding yourself in front of an imaginary audience.
It’d be helpful to keep a work log, to avoid the empty busyness, to face the burning question of “I know we are all busy, but what, exactly, is getting done?”
It’d be helpful to keep an exercise log, to help hold myself accountable, to make sure I take my daily dose of the best medicine for a healthy, happy life - exercise.
Ditto with a diet log, a money log, a book log, a study log (notes), a mood log (journal).
I like measuring stuff.
It takes courage to look at the truth, the facts, our imperfect self.
Keep an record. It’s fun, and you might find wonders in it.