Reading · Notes from the Middle

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A few weeks ago I caught myself celebrating a really productive day. I’d answered every text. Cleared my inbox. Submitted content. Ordered insta-cart. Worked out. Check, check, check. By every measurable standard, it was a “good” day.

But when I got into bed that night, I was exhausted. As if I had run a marathon. And if you asked me, “What was your favorite part of the day?” I would have to think really hard about it. Not because nothing good happened, but because I spent the entire day measuring what I was accomplishing.

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It made me wonder if we’ve quietly started measuring the wrong things.

Instead of asking ourselves...“Did I get everything done? What if we asked... “What did I laugh at today?” “Did I feel rushed all day?” “Did I actually play with my kids, or just manage them?”“Did I text a friend I haven’t talk to in a minute?”

We count steps. We count unread emails. We count followers. We count productivity. We count birthdays, milestones, and accomplishments. We count calories. We count hours slept. But there are actually so many things that matter more that can’t be counted.

I am so guilty of this. Every morning I make a checklist. It's satisfying to cross things off. It makes me feel productive. Like I'm winning the day.

What if we started to keep track of different things? Could you imagine?

This morning I used our sexy new espresso machine (that has been quite the learning curve), instead of the regular pot of coffee. Joy! What about the moment my kids told me I was “soOoOo funny.” Or how about last night when I just sat on the couch, not trying to optimize every moment.

Those moments don’t make for impressive metrics, but highly likely they will exist as things I’ll remember. Because I think the things that matter the most don’t show up on the checklist, but yet we very easily let the checklist become the scoreboard for our lives.

Maybe we’re not failing because we’re doing too little. Maybe we’re just measuring the wrong things. I think I just figured out my goal for July.

I think we're measuring the wrong things.

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