The Best Way to Achieve Your Goals Is to Publicly Record Your Progress.
We’ve talked about using the audience to motivate you before , but a recent meta-analysis of 138 different studies and experiments shows that it might actually be the best method for making real progress towards your goals.
Analysis by Dr. Benjamin Harkin and published in Psychological Bulletin found that monitoring and recording your progress was the most effective tool for achieving goals such as losing weight, quitting smoking, or changing your diet. This may not sound too surprising, but in 138 studies analyzed by Harkin and his research team, they found that publicly recording progress was the most effective of all:
Our results are relevant for those interested in changing their behavior and achieving their goals, as well as for those who want to help them, such as weight loss programs, money advisory agencies or sports coaches. Encouraging people to track their progress can help them achieve their goals, but some monitoring methods are better than others. In particular, we recommend encouraging people to record, report, or post what they learn as they measure their progress.
Following their example, if you were trying to lose weight, you could weigh yourself in front of others or post your progress on social media (maybe even with pictures). Harkin and his team also noted that it is vital that you focus on the specific end result you want. Using the same example, if you are trying to lose weight, just focus on tracking and logging your weight. Other things, such as changing your diet, are good for your overall goal, but if you focus on it, you can change your diet, not necessarily lose weight. In general, public accountability and support is much more powerful than you might think.
Does monitoring the progress of the goal contribute to the achievement of the goal? Meta-analysis of experimental data. | Psychological newsletter via PsyBlog