Look at the right metrics

A couple of years ago when I started jogging to eventually be able to run a half marathon, I used to look at my pace as a key metric to measure my progress. Any pro runner would laugh at reading this, but I thought the faster I could run, the faster my body would adapt to sustaining that pace for a longer distance. I know it’s naive, but at least there was some logic in that thinking. Besides, running fast felt ‘cooler’.

No surprise I barely progressed. I made it to the 10-kilometre runs, but couldn’t progress any further. I looked at my pace which improved over time, but I couldn’t understand why I didn’t come close to my goal after months of running.

Then I made an effort to learn a few things, bought a running watch, and switched my attention to a whole different metric: heart rate. Turned out that if I stayed below a certain threshold of my heart rate, I could run way longer! There is another thing called cadence, which is another important metric I never even heard of before at that time (a number of strides per minute), and understanding them both has helped me tremendously. After that eureka moment, I was able to run 20 kilometres and beyond in no time.

That made me think about how often we are looking at the wrong metrics, in any domain of our lives. For example, music producers measure their career progress by the sales charts. Content creators gauge their success by the number of page views. Professionals assess their progress by the number of completed to-dos. And the list goes on and on.

Whether you are a DJ trying to build an international career, a marketer building a sales funnel on the landing page, or a jogger aspiring to run a half marathon, be sure to look at the right metrics.