Measuring Progress as an Act of Love, Not Judgment

Most people see measurement as a prison. I discovered it’s actually the key to freedom. When I shared why I abandoned Todoist for a physical journal, I hit a nerve.

It started with this Thread.

I have completely abandoned the Todoist app for managing my tasks. My best to-do system remains my physical journal, where I can mark and review how many tasks I accomplish each day. Making tasks disappear once they are completed creates a weird psychological effect, making it feel like you haven’t accomplished anything.

“That sort of daily life sounds exhausting,” someone commented on my post about tracking daily tasks. They saw chains. I saw wings.

This reaction exposed a crucial truth: Most people’s relationship with measurement is broken. They associate tracking with restriction, numbers with judgment, data with doubt.

**But what if measurement isn’t about control? What if it’s about clarity?

This divide – between those who feel suffocated by tracking and those who find freedom in it – revealed something deeper. It’s not the measurement that’s exhausting. It’s measuring the wrong things, in the wrong way, for the wrong reasons.

I’m not tracking tasks to optimize every second. I’m tracking to understand my personal operating system. Big difference.

Let me show you how measurement becomes liberation when you flip the script on what it means to track progress.

The Science of Sensing
People often have a strained relationship with measurement. Whether it’s tracking weight, food intake, progress, or productivity, it can feel like a high-anxiety way of living. I get that. However, as someone with a scientific and engineering mindset, I see measurement differently - as just a form of sensing our environment.

You wouldn’t voluntarily make yourself blind because you don’t like what you see. While you might cover your ears if noise becomes overwhelming, generally, blocking our senses works against survival. The same principle applies to measuring our progress and activities. It’s just a higher-cognitive skill that requires more sophisticated analysis.

Think of measurement like a smartphone’s sensors. Your phone doesn’t judge the data it collects. It doesn’t stress about battery percentage or signal strength. It simply uses that information to optimize performance.

Your tracking system should do the same. Not to judge. Not to stress. But to understand and adapt.

The key is building this new relationship with data. When you stop seeing numbers as verdict and start seeing them as vital signs, everything changes.

Understanding Systems: Beyond the Black Box
Most people treat their goals like a black box - they can only see what they put in (effort, time) and what comes out (results), but they’re blind to the mechanics in between. They have the illusion that if you are good enough and disciplined enough for some time, eventually you achieve the goal. Maybe this was true in school. Reality is far more complex than that. Black boxes are the anti-ideal work environment because we have no control over the outcome of the process.

When we transform a black box into a transparent system:

1. We gain visibility into patterns and relationships
2. We create immediate feedback loops
3. We identify leverage points where small changes create significant impacts
4. We understand the dynamic behavior of our system

For example, in my bodybuilding journey, instead of just seeing “diet + exercise = results”, I tracked:

• Food intake and timing
• Exercise performance
• Recovery quality
• Energy levels
• Progress measurements
• Time and sleep quality

By methodically tracking my food intake and training efforts, something unexpected happened. The data showed me I could eat more while losing fat. My average daily caloric intake increased, while my body composition improved. Numbers became objective feedback rather than emotional triggers. This never would have happened if I wasn’t tracking from the beginning of the process. The ripple effects were profound:

• Sleep quality jumped from 6 to 7.5 hours daily
• Recovery improved, leading to better training results
• My relationship with food transformed from fear to understanding
• Energy levels stabilized, supporting both physical and mental performance

**The difference between average and exceptional isn’t effort. It’s understanding.

Measurement as Liberation
The reason I track productivity isn’t to do more, but to do less. Without tracking, I often felt like I accomplished nothing, when in reality, I had completed my daily goals ahead of schedule. Measurement freed me from these emotional biases.

**Measurement is a tool for understanding, not a weapon for self-criticism.

As a software and robotics engineer, I’ve learned that the principles that guide autonomous robots can transform how we approach personal development. Let me share how SLAM (Simultaneous Localization and Mapping) algorithms changed my perspective.

SLAM helps robots do two crucial things simultaneously:

1. Build a map of their environment
2. Understand their position within it

This dual awareness transforms uncertainty into structured navigation. Here’s how this applies to personal development:

1. Mapping Your Environment
   Just as robots construct detailed maps of their surroundings, we need to understand our landscape: opportunities, constraints, resources, and challenges. This isn’t a one-time activity but a continuous process of discovery and updating.

2. Real-Time Position Tracking
   Like robots constantly updating their position estimates, we need accurate awareness of where we stand relative to our goals. This prevents the common trap of feeling lost despite making progress.

3. Continuous Calibration
   SLAM algorithms don’t just collect data – they use it to refine their understanding. Similarly, our tracking should inform better decisions, not just record history.

4. Managing Uncertainty
   Just as robots account for sensor noise and environmental changes, we need to handle the variability in our progress. Not every day will be perfect, and that’s expected.

This systematic approach eliminates the randomness that plagues most people’s productivity systems. Instead of hoping for progress, we create a framework for understanding it.

When I don’t complete all tasks in a day, the data simply indicates a need for adjustment. There’s no emotional drama – just information guiding better decisions.

This transforms productivity from a source of anxiety into a tool for clarity. The goal isn’t to do more; it’s to understand better.

Think of most people’s approach to goals as a mathematical random walk - a path of successive random steps. While a random walk eventually covers all points, it’s painfully inefficient. This is exactly how most approach their goals:

• Trying different productivity systems without understanding why previous ones failed
• Jumping between projects without completing them
• Working hard but in random directions
• Confusing motion with progress

Without measurement, we become victims of “productive procrastination” - busy but directionless, active but ineffective.

This is where SLAM’s power becomes clear. Instead of random walks, SLAM provides:

• A structured map of the territory
• Real-time position awareness
• Continuous calibration
• Systematic progress tracking

random walks hope to eventually reach the target. SLAM navigates there deliberately.

A Framework for Growth

1. Choose one metric that matters to you. For me, it was sleep quality - the foundation of everything else.
2. Track it without judgment for one week. Just observe.
3. Look for patterns, not perfection.
4. Add another metric only when the first feels natural.

This isn’t about perfect tracking - it’s about having enough information to make informed decisions. Some weeks I might track everything, others just the essentials. The key is maintaining awareness without becoming overwhelmed. Personal growth is an act of love, not punishment.