{"id":7229,"date":"2016-03-22T12:05:21","date_gmt":"2016-03-22T16:05:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.duck9.com\/?p=7229"},"modified":"2016-03-22T12:06:36","modified_gmt":"2016-03-22T16:06:36","slug":"ditto-what-matt-said","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.duck9.com\/blog\/ditto-what-matt-said\/","title":{"rendered":"Ditto What Matt Said"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Unedited by Larry Chiang<\/span><\/div>\n

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By Matt Hunckler<\/span><\/div>\n

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A harp plays softly, as if in the distance, and my eyes gently fold open.<\/p>\n

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My hand lifts my iPhone from the bed to silence the app before the alarm can progress any louder. I yank the phone free from the cord as I walk to the room-darkening shades to let the morning light spill into my bedroom.
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After downing a tall glass of ice-cold water and I lay my yoga mat out in the living room. Bill Withers plays through my speakers to reassure me that it\u2019s going to be a \u201cLovely Day.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Waking up in the morning definitely hasn\u2019t always been this pleasant, believe me. My high school self would have been floored\u2026
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Wake up to harp sounds? Are you kidding me?
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Despite growing up delivering papers by 5 AM<\/a>each day, I had to physically and mentally force<\/em><\/strong>myself to wake up early until I figured out what actually works for me. <\/p>\n

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It took a couple of years of testing and tracking to hone in on my current set of daily habits. But now when I follow through on those habits, I have the highest levels of energy and clarity I\u2019ve ever had in the AM.
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So that first-thing glass of water is intentional. As is the Bill Withers tune. And those soothing harp sounds emanate from an alarm app I discovered called Sleep Cycle,<\/em><\/strong> which measures my movements while I sleep in order to wake me up at the optimal point in my biorhythms.<\/p>\n

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In other words\u2026
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Measuring daily activities ain\u2019t<\/em> just for pro athletes no more.<\/p>\n

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Most of my entrepreneurial friends track at least a few activities that make an impact on their lives. And that seems consistent with the latest findings from Pew Internet Research, which found:
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21% of adults now use tech to track their own activities.<\/p>\n

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But isn\u2019t the percentage actually much higher than that?<\/p>\n

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Whether we like it or not, all of us are tracking our habits through the software and web tools we use. Think about Mint for your personal finances, Nest for your home activities, and even Twitter and Facebook for tracking where and when you were (and who even who you were with). There\u2019s serious potential for this information.<\/p>\n

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Disciplines like Quantified Self<\/em> and BigData<\/em>have unlocked unlimited opportunity to measure and optimize all aspects of life. So people are discovering new ways to work, grow, and experience life to the fullest.<\/p>\n

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What habits will enhance your physical and mental performance while increase your happiness and wellbeing?<\/p>\n

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You could measure:<\/span><\/div>\n