How to Tell if Your Business Diet is Working

If you’ve been following along, you know that I recently started a food diary. Working from home was wreaking havoc on my diet. I realized that tracking what I consumed and how I ‘spent’ my calories was the reality check that I needed. The same can be true for your business. Tracking activities can help jump start your business diet, but how do you know if your diet is working?

Check your ‘diary’

Greater Accountability

I have reached for more than one unhealthy snack since I started my food diary. But, keeping track of what I eat keeps me focused on my priorities. The same mindset applies to your business. When you and your team write down how you spend your time, it holds you accountable and keeps you on track.

Greater Accuracy

One of the big benefits of a diary is that it gives you a more accurate reflection of your daily activities. When you track your business activities in real time—instead of relying on job or task estimates after the fact—the data is more accurate. It becomes easy to discover where your ‘wasted calories’ are coming from. Plus, you’re less likely to forget that extra ‘time snack.’ Five extra minutes might not seem like much, but it really adds up over time!

Use Your Data

A big challenge with most ‘diets’ is knowing what works. Are you seeing changes? Do the changes align with your priorities? A simple way to measure progress is to use a dashboard. It helps you see where you can improve team performance and productivity. Plus, the adjustments you make will be based on facts instead of guesswork or out-of-date job standards.

Compare Performance

When I started my food diary, I needed a little bit of extra motivation. So, I teamed up with my neighbor to track our performance together! Use your data-driven dashboards to compare team performance and generate a little friendly competition. This will drive accountability and generate performance improvements.

Stick with it. Watch your dashboard to identify opportunities for improvement and and make adjustments accordingly. You’ll be seeing results in no time.