Effective Ways to Measure Progress

In his Best Year Ever goal-setting program, productivity expert Michael Hyatt advises his followers to "Measure the Gains, Not the Gap" while working toward a goal - and this is the perfect advice for measuring progress in adults or children with a learning disability. Traditionally, in school or at work, we tend to evaluate performance based on a “gap” in skills or understanding - in other words, those who excel are rewarded, while those who take longer to gain mastery are only reminded of their errors. However, flipping this concept on its head and measuring “gains” toward mastery actually helps better maintain interest and motivation while working toward a goal.

In order to measure gains, you first need to decide on a way to track progress. One strategy is to keep track of levels of mastery. Record the current performance today, and compare it to performance every week, month, or year. For example, you or your child might start off with 10 grammatical errors in a paper today, but gradually work your way down to 7 errors, then 4, and finally 0 errors a year from now. Seeing this improvement will provide a sense of achievement that will keep you on track.

You can also track how much time it takes to complete certain tasks. For example, it might take 2 hours to read, understand, and complete a homework assignment today. However, as better mastery of the subject is gained, the time it takes to complete the assignment will get shorter and shorter. Making the effort to track the time spent on homework will demonstrate how much an academic struggle is decreasing, and also build confidence to tackle future challenges.

You can also measure progress by tracking what’s called a “streak” - essentially, a series of achievements that are logged consecutively at regular intervals. This is a great way to track good habits that support your progress. For example, you might set a goal to practice mindfulness every morning and track how many days in a row that you successfully complete your mindfulness routine.

Tracking mastery, speed, and streaks not only ensures that gains of skill and mastery are properly noticed and recognized - it also removes much of the anxiety and esteem issues that come from competition. If you begin to measure individual progress, it creates a sense of achievement and self-confidence that is internal and independent of outside comparisons.