In preparing for my next teleclass (which is tomorrow, Dec 1), I revisited a concept that I discovered last year. Called “personal informatics,” the idea is to use the capture devices we carry around all the time to compile all sorts of interesting personal data. Those data can then be analyzed, visualized, and sifted through to create a portrait of a day, a year, a personal behavior. Part social media, part daily diary, you can use sites like Daytum, to keep up with your stuff.

This got me to thinking about getting the right results.

One reason you practice productivity is to get stuff done, right? And the measure of true productivity is getting the right things done. It’s easy to be busy-busy. It’s not easy to hold your attention on the significant, especially if you life a in toasty-hot urgency-filled fire zone. It’s also frightenly easy to focus on the trivial (just surf around on Daytum’s Who Uses Daytum under “more activity” to see what I mean).

So what’s significant?

If you have a goal–something you really want to accomplish–then that’s important. It doesn’t have to be earth shattering. Meaningful-to-you counts. In fact, it’s the only criteria that matters. It’s not up to other people to judge your significant results. It’s up to you. Does it feed your soul? Then you’re getting the right results. That’s why tracking your informatics can be so much fun. Compiling your numbers gives you a way of reliving and engaging in your joyfulness.

I don’t know about you but when I gaze at my numbers, I feel a big old surge of pride. It’s the pride of accomplishment and oddly, we don’t let ourselves do that enough. As big-time productivity doer types, we tend to check off tasks and zip right by the enjoyment of accomplishment part.

So find something to track. Pick an activity that will give you an indication of how you’re doing in an area that means something to you (if that’s beers consumed classified by country of origin, so be it). Build some numbers, create a track record, and feel the joy!

This is what’s meant by satisfaction and fulfillment. If you’re not getting enough of that, you may want to join us here.

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