New Year’s resolutions work better if you know what to measure

https://www.newscientist.com/article/mg26835752-400-new-years-resolutions-work-better-if-you-know-what-to-measure/

The house was nagging. The reminders were coming thick and fast. Time to choose. The fridge made its polite suggestions, the living room screens had their ideas and of course the door had a parting shot, “just to think about”. Each suggestion was backed up with the data from the last year: successful and failed commitments, streaks, trends. The house presented the new year options as visualisations, engaging graphics and generative stories. They were compelling. You couldn’t argue with the proposals. They were carefully created to be SMART and the offers on the equipment and assistive tech were pretty good…