The Importance of Progress Tracking

With summer in full swing, now is an ideal time to reflect on your New Year’s resolutions and prioritize the goals that matter most to you. Whether you’re aiming to exercise more, wake up earlier, improve your public speaking skills, or break a habit, we know that setting goals is the first step to achieving results. But simply creating a goal will not launch you forward; how you tackle that goal is critical.

It’s been proven that regularly monitoring progress significantly increases chances of success. Here are the key benefits of keeping score:

Staying accountable

Studies show that individuals who don’t track or monitor their progress will not have the same rate of successful goal completion as those who do. Accountability is key, whatever that looks like for you. Whether it’s working with a coach or partner, using an app, or simply putting your goals to pen and paper, utilizing sources of accountability will keep you moving in the right direction.

Measure progress

One of the best ways to stay motivated is by measuring your progress as you go. Seeing results in real time can keep that fire lit beneath you to continue on your journey.

Identify roadblocks

Maybe you’ve been working hard at making changes to reach your goals but you feel stuck, like you’re putting in a tremendous amount of effort for little to no outcome. Success often requires some trial and error, and tracking your progress can be a wonderful way to observe which tactics are not serving you so that you can make any necessary adjustments to your action plan.

Maintenance

Once you’re able to identify which strategies are working for you and you begin to notice real progress, your chances of sticking with this goal are significantly higher.

“Change is inevitable, change will always happen, but you have to apply direction to change, and that's when it's progress.” -Doug Baldwin