Love this! I ran a similar experiment a few years back. I "knew" how much I can eat, how much activity led to a "good sleep score", etc. etc... I felt that I'd finally dialled in my routine enough to trust taking off the Apple Watch and buying a simple round watch with a dial and hands. I could sleep because I was tired and wake because I was rested. I might work out or walk (or not) because if felt like a good time. I would journal one day, and play guitar with coffee the next. It was like some sort of permanent vacation from the worst boss ever - me!
It reminds me of my latent fantasy - a life free of clocks and calendars. Those last worldly metrics and measurements that I often react to with anxiety and panic.
I have put my smart watch back on and do track my health again. However, like coming off a long fast, this time the healthy behaviour is the relationship I have with my personal data consumption.
Good luck, and looking forward to hearing your progress!
Hey Corey - I'm thrilled to hear that you have already done this and found a healthy relationship with it. It's funny, too, because I have often thought about how liberating it would be to have a life free of clocks and calendars. Sometimes I look at my calendar filled with dread, even though there are fun activities on it. It makes no sense! :-) Happy 2026!
I feel this struggle, Steve! I am much less of a tracker than I used to be, but I've been on a quest to "dumb" my phone for about a year now. My challenge, and I'm curious if you share this, is that failing to record the metrics didn't stop the narrative. I actually journaled this morning about how I think I may be incapable of real rest ("Am I using this time wisely? Are my skills in this hobby I enjoy improving? Am I breathing deeply enough to benefit from this 'rest'?" I kid you not.). I can't even read a book without dissecting the writing and narrative. The thing that has helped me is Kate Bowler's counterpoint to optimizing life: There's no cure for being human. We cannot optimize ourselves out of the messiness of living no matter how hard we try. No longer tracking life has allowed me to zoom out and embrace it. Best of luck, and I look forward to hearing more about your experience.
Hey Kristen - thanks for sharing this. I'm very curious to see if the narrative stops this month or whether it sticks around despite the lack of tracking. Several of the experiments I'm doing feel like an attempt to de-program myself from the thinking you were journaling about this morning. Where everything you do has to be "successful"... if it's relaxing or having fun. I am going to have to check out Kate Bowler because I haven't read her book yet, but love the "no cure for being human" acknowledgement! Curious if you have any other advice for me as you've already been doing this? Anything you've had a harder time letting go of tracking? Or thoughts about how to let go of the narrative? Thanks again!
I personally found when I stopped tracking, I became much more in tune with my body and what it needed because I didn't have an arbitrary or calculated goal to meet, as you pointed out. So, I found mindfulness practices really helpful to help reacquaint me with my internal regulation systems and stay present without setting goals for every aspect of my day to day life. For example, when I stopped tracking my protein intake, I could stop and listen to what I was hungry for and now I know how much is enough for me (and I have no idea how much that actually is, which is freeing!). Even a quick check in in the shower with a minute or so of deep breathing would help. Strangely enough, I had the hardest time giving up tracking my water intake! I still track it mentally, but I did stop using an app after switching between several. I simply can't seem to drink enough, otherwise, but I don't find I need or want the external motivation and validation anymore. As far as the narrative goes, I'm still working on it and it will probably be a lifelong project for me :).
This is really valuable for me to hear this, Kristen - thank you! The mindfulness suggestion and paying attention to what I need, what's enough, what I enjoy, etc sounds like a very smart idea for me to dig into this month. Thank you again!
Well done on no tracking, Steve! I’m excited to read later in month how you are doing! I am on holidays (yay) and return soon. Twenty years ago, I’d have made myself run on holiday but things are more relaxed now. Less self-torment! Congrats on half marathon training! Agreed track on the running training and race day so you train hard and long enough to achieve your race goal and not be excessively sore 2 days after.
Enjoy your holiday and glad you are not tracking your relaxation or needing to feel productive or making yourself do anything you don't feel like while you're off! Thanks for the kind message!
I had a similar feeling when listening to that episode. I've read two of Brooks' books and took a TON from them, but the bro-science opening of the episode was a turn-off.
You bring up great points about the second-order effects of an optimized life. It seems that we're losing nuance in our lives. Everything is either/or, dualistic thinking.
Good luck with your new experiment. I'm going to assume that it will be a fruitful and liberating experience.
I'm glad I'm not alone in finding that episode over-the-top bonkers :-) And totally agree that we are living in a weird dualistic thinking era. Good or bad. Success or failure. Right or wrong. And no in-between. And the determinations of what makes something one or the other isn't up for debate... or determined by "us."
Thanks for the kind message - I'm hoping it will be liberating, too. So far, so good!
Miriam Toews would be fascinated by this experiment! Life is too short to measure everything and be critical of yourself based on the results. Maybe, instead of 'what does it mean,' you're onto something with 'how does it feel?'
Love this! I ran a similar experiment a few years back. I "knew" how much I can eat, how much activity led to a "good sleep score", etc. etc... I felt that I'd finally dialled in my routine enough to trust taking off the Apple Watch and buying a simple round watch with a dial and hands. I could sleep because I was tired and wake because I was rested. I might work out or walk (or not) because if felt like a good time. I would journal one day, and play guitar with coffee the next. It was like some sort of permanent vacation from the worst boss ever - me!
It reminds me of my latent fantasy - a life free of clocks and calendars. Those last worldly metrics and measurements that I often react to with anxiety and panic.
I have put my smart watch back on and do track my health again. However, like coming off a long fast, this time the healthy behaviour is the relationship I have with my personal data consumption.
Good luck, and looking forward to hearing your progress!
Hey Corey - I'm thrilled to hear that you have already done this and found a healthy relationship with it. It's funny, too, because I have often thought about how liberating it would be to have a life free of clocks and calendars. Sometimes I look at my calendar filled with dread, even though there are fun activities on it. It makes no sense! :-) Happy 2026!
I feel this struggle, Steve! I am much less of a tracker than I used to be, but I've been on a quest to "dumb" my phone for about a year now. My challenge, and I'm curious if you share this, is that failing to record the metrics didn't stop the narrative. I actually journaled this morning about how I think I may be incapable of real rest ("Am I using this time wisely? Are my skills in this hobby I enjoy improving? Am I breathing deeply enough to benefit from this 'rest'?" I kid you not.). I can't even read a book without dissecting the writing and narrative. The thing that has helped me is Kate Bowler's counterpoint to optimizing life: There's no cure for being human. We cannot optimize ourselves out of the messiness of living no matter how hard we try. No longer tracking life has allowed me to zoom out and embrace it. Best of luck, and I look forward to hearing more about your experience.
Hey Kristen - thanks for sharing this. I'm very curious to see if the narrative stops this month or whether it sticks around despite the lack of tracking. Several of the experiments I'm doing feel like an attempt to de-program myself from the thinking you were journaling about this morning. Where everything you do has to be "successful"... if it's relaxing or having fun. I am going to have to check out Kate Bowler because I haven't read her book yet, but love the "no cure for being human" acknowledgement! Curious if you have any other advice for me as you've already been doing this? Anything you've had a harder time letting go of tracking? Or thoughts about how to let go of the narrative? Thanks again!
I personally found when I stopped tracking, I became much more in tune with my body and what it needed because I didn't have an arbitrary or calculated goal to meet, as you pointed out. So, I found mindfulness practices really helpful to help reacquaint me with my internal regulation systems and stay present without setting goals for every aspect of my day to day life. For example, when I stopped tracking my protein intake, I could stop and listen to what I was hungry for and now I know how much is enough for me (and I have no idea how much that actually is, which is freeing!). Even a quick check in in the shower with a minute or so of deep breathing would help. Strangely enough, I had the hardest time giving up tracking my water intake! I still track it mentally, but I did stop using an app after switching between several. I simply can't seem to drink enough, otherwise, but I don't find I need or want the external motivation and validation anymore. As far as the narrative goes, I'm still working on it and it will probably be a lifelong project for me :).
This is really valuable for me to hear this, Kristen - thank you! The mindfulness suggestion and paying attention to what I need, what's enough, what I enjoy, etc sounds like a very smart idea for me to dig into this month. Thank you again!
Well done on no tracking, Steve! I’m excited to read later in month how you are doing! I am on holidays (yay) and return soon. Twenty years ago, I’d have made myself run on holiday but things are more relaxed now. Less self-torment! Congrats on half marathon training! Agreed track on the running training and race day so you train hard and long enough to achieve your race goal and not be excessively sore 2 days after.
Enjoy your holiday and glad you are not tracking your relaxation or needing to feel productive or making yourself do anything you don't feel like while you're off! Thanks for the kind message!
I had a similar feeling when listening to that episode. I've read two of Brooks' books and took a TON from them, but the bro-science opening of the episode was a turn-off.
You bring up great points about the second-order effects of an optimized life. It seems that we're losing nuance in our lives. Everything is either/or, dualistic thinking.
Good luck with your new experiment. I'm going to assume that it will be a fruitful and liberating experience.
I'm glad I'm not alone in finding that episode over-the-top bonkers :-) And totally agree that we are living in a weird dualistic thinking era. Good or bad. Success or failure. Right or wrong. And no in-between. And the determinations of what makes something one or the other isn't up for debate... or determined by "us."
Thanks for the kind message - I'm hoping it will be liberating, too. So far, so good!
Miriam Toews would be fascinated by this experiment! Life is too short to measure everything and be critical of yourself based on the results. Maybe, instead of 'what does it mean,' you're onto something with 'how does it feel?'
"Life is too short to measure everything" - YES! And nicely done! :-) (Spoiler... so far it "feels" great. More to come!)