Chart your progress ...

This is something I must have inherited from my mum, tables, statistics, spreadsheets and so on. Sometimes as a kid, I only did the housework, because I wanted to see the X marked in the calendar. It was even more satisfying to see a full row of Xs than the achieved sum of pocket-money at the end of the week. It just kept me driving.

And still today … I have re-discovered the power of charts, spreadsheets and calendars. Putting things down, keeps your mind free. One really important feature. But having a goal, like in the worst case doing a PhD *smirk*, and you have a plan written down, it is more motivating than knowing, it will be over in 3 years. But you have to chart your progress. I failed at first in doing that. I didn’t see the results I have reached in between. I just saw the work ahead, not the work I have done so far.

I don’t say it is easy. I also started a lot of things and tried to monitor and chart the progress, but after a couple of days or weeks, I didn’t see any inspiration in it anymore. Mostly, because I was just too impatient I didn’t get the results straight after the first week. But being a lord-like person, I still love looking at tables and charts. They tell me sometimes more than a fancy picture.

So, where do I use charts right now?

· Balance Sheet ... I started to monitor my monthly income and expensive in the style of Robert Kiyosaki, but I got bored, because it was every month the same ... will go back to it soon, as the income is growing
· Google Analytics ... paradise for Lords and Mechanics
· SpeadReading ... words per minute rate
· and so on ...