3 ms·
The funny thing is that it's almost true by default. The mere fact of measuring something is often enough to drive improvements. A couple of years ago, I insta
by RyanMcGreal 15y ago
The funny thing is that it's almost true by default. The mere fact of measuring something is often enough to drive improvements.
A couple of years ago, I installed the RunKeeper app on my phone and started tracking how long it took me to walk places. Over the course of a few months, my walking speed increased from a pokey 5 km/h (3mph) to 8 km/h (5 mph). I didn't install the app with the goal of walking faster; it just happened as a side-effect of regular feedback on how fast I was walking.
- decadentcactus 15y agoSame here, with eating. Simply writing down and calculating what I was eating ended up with me eating more (which I'm aiming for). Now measure all the things?
- patrickyeon 15y agoSeems to be the idea behind http://quantifiedself.com http://quantifiedself.com (in case you haven't heard of it before).
- pbhjpbhj 15y agoSee also http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hawthorne_effect http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hawthorne_effect
- RyanMcGreal 15y agoMy understanding of the Hawthorne effect is that it is a temporary increase in performance due to the subject's awareness of being studied. I stopped using RunKeeper over a year ago but my default walking speed has remained much higher than it was when I started measuring it.
- jaylevitt 15y agoExcept the Hawthorne effect is poorly studied, probably doesn't exist as its own effect, and is useful only as a metaphor for this very "What we measure we can fix" effect.