Free Better Than Before: Mastering the Habits of Our Everyday Lives by Gretchen Rubin Page A

shifts, as the data provided by tracking helped nudge me to do better than before .
    Also, I enjoyed monitoring. As an Upholder, I like watching my progress and getting credit for my accomplishments, and in some situations, I didn’t mind the grunt work of tracking. Monitoring tends to appeal to Questioners, too, because they love getting information and using it to shape their habits. From what I’ve observed, however, Obligers may struggle to monitor unless someone is checking on them. Just wearing a UP band might not supply enough external accountability for some Obligers—but activating the “team” feature, to allow other people to check their stats, might help. Rebels? It depends on whether Rebels want to monitor.
    My biggest monitoring challenge was my urge to monitor myself selectively, because it’s tempting to record only my virtuous moments. On the other hand, when I feel as though I haven’t made much progress, monitoring is a reminder of what I have accomplished. Progress, not perfection, is the goal. I’m a gold-star junkie, and I love scrolling back on my UP report to see that I exceeded my 10,000-step goal, but I also know that 5,000 steps are better than 1,000. A Secret of Adulthood (cribbed from Voltaire) is “Don’t let the perfect be the enemy of the good.” Monitoring makes it possible to remember everything I’ve accomplished.
    At times, I did find that my monitoring distracted me from my own experience, and perhaps kept me from encountering it as deeply as I might have done if I hadn’t been monitoring. If I’m fussing with the sleep function on my UP band, I may not notice how good it feels to stretch out in bed. Nonetheless, monitoring is invaluable, because it helps ensure that I get to bed . How will I get a good night’s sleep if I stay glued to my computer until midnight? By monitoring the activities that I want to foster, I get an accurate picture of what I’m doing, which helps me see what I want to do differently.
    My sister, Elizabeth, had decided that knowing her blood sugar level was so important that she had to monitor it as closely as possible; I wasn’t monitoring anything nearly as vital, of course, but the same principle applied: I should monitor whatever is essential to me. In that way, I ensure that my life reflects my values.

First Things First

Foundation
    Habits gradually change the face of one’s life as time change’s one’s physical face; & one does not know it.
    â€”Virginia Woolf, Diary , April 13, 1929
    T he observational Strategies of Four Tendencies, Distinctions, and Monitoring take their power from self-awareness. Because I tend to gravitate toward the concrete, I was eager to get out of my own head to start acting on what I’d learned. I’d begin by working on the Strategy of Foundation, because I’d have an easier time fostering good habits if my Foundation was strong.
    While some experts advise focusing on one habit project at a time to avoid draining willpower, others note that people who work on one positive habit often find it easier to improve in other areas; for instance, people who stick to a program of exercise also show better health- and work-related behaviors. Maybe that’s one reason so many major religions have periods of ritualized self-denial, like Lent, Ramadan, and Yom Kippur. Self-command breeds self-command, and change fosters change. The reverse is true, too: undesirable habits often cluster together and reinforce each other.
    If we want to improve our habits, where should we begin? I often remind myself, “First things first.” That is, begin by addressing big, obvious problems.
    Surprisingly often, when people want to improve their habits, they begin with a habit that won’t deliver much payoff in return for the habit-formation energy required. I knew a guy who was chronically sleep deprived, never exercised, could never find his keys or