Last year, I made a decision that dramatically improved my physique and sleep quality:

Tracking basic metrics.

I bought an Apple Watch to measure things like daily step count, calorie burn, and sleep score.

Today, I can say with confidence that I’m in the best shape of my life and sleep like a little baby.

The tracking clearly helped.

But having a way to visualize my daily efforts made the biggest difference.

An Apple Watch lets you set daily fitness goals, which appear as colored rings that slowly fill as you move through your day.

For example:

My daily exercise goal is 60 minutes, which is a fantastic forcing function for going on walks or hitting the gym.

Whenever I close a ring, my watch lights up. In that moment, I feel excitement and joy because I know I’m done for the day.

This got me thinking about business.

When business feels like a grind

If you're an entrepreneur, the work never ends.

No matter how much you hustle, there’s always one more message you could send or one more hour you could pour into a draft.

Without a finish line, it's never enough.

That means you either keep grinding yourself into burnout or get paralyzed by the endless amount of work.

(I’m speaking from experience here)

But it doesn’t have to be this way.

Gamify your experience

Last week, I started an experiment to gamify my business. But instead of closing rings, I keep a tally list to track my efforts.

Let me show you how:

First, I set a daily goal that’s a bit challenging.

Right now, I’m committed to writing 10 daily LinkedIn comments and 5 outreach DMs. I know this sounds as exciting as eating white rice.

But turning those efforts into a fun challenge?

Count me in.

To track my results, I created a simple spreadsheet with Claude, printed it out, and placed it right next to my keyboard. This way, there’s no way I can overlook my daily commitment. (If you want to use the sheet, here’s the link.)

When I’m done, I can tick the day off.

And it sounds silly, but adding that little tick is a great feeling, because it signals you’ve done enough.

Sure, you can continue to work, but there’s no more pressure to perform because you’re already across the finish line. (and have more energy for tomorrow’s race)

So here’s my challenge to you, Reader:

Pick one draining task and gamify it. Set a reasonable daily goal and start adding tally marks as you go.

Run the experiment for a week and get back to me.

Did you get more work done?

Did you enjoy it more?

(I bet you will)

Business gets a lot easier when you're having fun.

Dave

P.S.

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In my new 1:1 newsletter program, I help you start and scale your list, keep it high-quality, and support you every step along the way.

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If that’s you, reply with the word “newsletter.”