Does tracking your progress help you reach a goal?
Short answer
Yes, on average there is a small-to-moderate difference. In the 2016 review by Harkin and colleagues (138 studies, 19,951 people), monitoring progress raised goal attainment, d+ = 0.40. The effect was larger when progress was recorded in writing and when it was reported to someone else.
What was found
Harkin and colleagues reviewed 138 studies and 19,951 people in Psychological Bulletin in 2016. Prompting people to monitor progress increased goal attainment (d+ = 0.40; 95% CI 0.32 to 0.48). The effect was larger when progress was recorded in writing and when it was reported to others.
Michie and colleagues (2009) looked at diet and exercise interventions (122 evaluations, 44,747 people). Self-monitoring had an effect of 0.42 when combined with a technique from control theory and 0.26 when it was not.
In the 2012 review by Michie and colleagues in Addiction, self-monitoring appeared alongside larger effects in brief alcohol interventions.
Limits
- These cover mixed goals; they are not results specific to smoking or alcohol.
- Reporting to someone else is not part of Purrpose, because your logs stay on your phone.
- This is an association; we do not say tracking alone decides the outcome.
In practice
Each morning, write yesterday in one minute and look at your limit or how many days you have stayed away. Once the number is on paper, "it was about fine" has nowhere to hide.
Sources
Related guides
Start with Penny
One minute each morning, Pause when a craving comes. No account, no ads, no tracking.