Every day, you make thousands of decisions you’re not even aware of.
You say you want to get stronger, but you don’t make time for the gym
You say you’ll start posting content, but you never have energy to edit
You say you’ll fix your sleep schedule, but you keep bringing your phone into bed
But it’s not really your fault.
You’ve been taught that it’s a flaw in yourself:
“I can’t stay consistent, so I’m a lazy person”
“I’m not disciplined, I need to lock in more”
“I can’t even do such an easy task…I’m a failure who doesn’t deserve success”
But…what if it’s not about you?
4 years of my life tracking data
The thing about tracking…
Is that it requires visibility.
When I’m tracking all the time, I see the timer going.
I have to stop and think:
“Is this really a good use of my time?”
Even though I’m a “lazy” person,
This second of pause gives me the chance to change my mind.
It makes those tiny decisions more visible.
Making the subconscious conscious
When you keep pushing something to tomorrow,
All of that shows up in your tracking data.
You have to consciously choose to delay your goals again and again.
And when these tiny actions - these habits - are so visible,
You start thinking:
“Wow, I’m spending a lot of time on this. Maybe I shouldn’t. Maybe I’d rather do something else.”
And from there, you can start building better systems.
Examples: how tracking changes behaviour
That’s the power of visibility:
Without making any major changes,
Just becoming more aware of your subconscious actions and habits
Is enough to change.
The power of repeated noticing
You might be thinking,
“Well if I track everything, I’m just gonna see how much I waste my time. That’s gonna make me feel even more like a failure.”
Here’s what I think.
4 years ago, I was a different person.
Ignorance is bliss was my motto.
“I don’t wanna see all my failures. I don’t want to feel worthless.”
So I shoved it all under the metaphorical rug, and continued:
Being a people pleaser, feeling resentful and bitter
Not remembering - or learning from - any of my mistakes
Feeling left behind because I didn’t work towards my goals
But when I tracked my time, I couldn’t really do that anymore…
I had to see my decisions every time I changed my timer.
But surprisingly, seeing the data didn’t make me feel ashamed or guilty.
It was uncomfortable, sure.
But I saw, for the first time, the impact of proper systems:
Tracking every second of my time → spending time more intentionally
Writing 1 daily sentence about how I could improve → learning about how to set my boundaries and take accountability
Noting down my happiness scores → noticing the difference between true fulfillment vs cheap dopamine
Suddenly, I felt more capable and empowered.
I felt like I could learn - and do - anything I set my mind (and systems) to.
Because every failure just meant an opportunity to learn about myself.
If I doomscrolled til 5am?
I’d notice it’s because I took my phone to bed and build automations to prevent that.
If I procrastinated my work for weeks?
I’d notice it’s because it felt too overwhelming and I needed to go to a cute cafe and cowork with friends.
But it’s not just about noticing my “mistakes.”
It’s about noticing over and over and over.
Every second I chose to take an action that doesn’t feel aligned - I felt that choice until I got sick of it.
So how can we start?
Realize it only takes 5 seconds
90% of the battle is internal - you just have to believe you can do it
Commit to 1 habit this week and track it - spreadsheet, time tracking, habit tracking, anything. Just as an experiment to see
Example goals you can commit to:
Read at least 1 sentence of a book every day before bed (put the book on your bedside table)
Do 1 squat every morning before leaving your room (put a sticky note on your door to remind you)
Film at least 1 second every day (set daily alarms or this forced content creation automation - scroll down on the page)
Hit reply to brainstorm your habit with me so we can commit to it together 🫶
How was today's email?
Til next time,
Jennifer
P.S. if you enjoyed this email, I teach people how to build habit systems to stay consistent with goals + hobbies like these - even if you “don’t have time.”
The next cohort of this 6-week program opens soon - sign up for the waitlist here.
