How to measure effort?

How to measure slack vs stretch? i.e. how to measure effort? All of the solutions that jump out at me are measurements by proxy, which aren’t perfect because the effort component is not isolated. But paired with some intuition and a willingness to be honest, the proxies could be pretty useful.

• Change in ability/skill acquisition over time. If I’ve noticeably improved my skills, there was probably effort involved.
• Adherence to a plan/schedule
• Behavior modification over long enough periods of time, e.g. intermittent fasting with a 2 hour window might take a little effort for one day, but more effort for 20 or 30 days.
• Quantity and quality of output

I’d say these are all measurements of performance. I’d like to see a way to measure effort directly, but performance is probably more meaningful anyway, especially doing something useful and consistently raising the standards for performance beyond my current abilities.

Tags: self-obsession