Keep a Journal! or, On the Value of Data

JT Scott | 09/24/2017 | 6

We all have days that feel great, and days that feel hard. Sometimes, it feels like nothing’s working right – like the weights are too heavy, and we’re too slow, and that we just don’t have what it takes. It feels like we’re not making progress, that we’re not as strong or as fast as we think we should be. In short, it feels like we’re failing.

That’s where having a journal comes in really handy.

We write our scores on the board every day not because we’re competing with each other, but because what we just did in the Strength and the WOD are quantifiable data that we can use to track our progress. If you’re taking your coaches’ advice, you’ll have your own paper journal in which you write down how much you lifted each day, what your scaling was in each WOD, and how fast you completed it.

Over time this tells the story of our progress, and we can fight back the demons of our own uncertainty and insecurity with hard data. If you’ll indulge me, I’ll tell you two stories of how this can help.

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Story the first: once upon a time, I was a young CrossFitter engaging in a journey of weight loss, fitness, and personal transformation. Now, you all know the end of that story: I lost 100 pounds in 7 months and founded a few gyms, one of which y’all come work out at on the regular. But along the way, it wasn’t easy.

In fact, one day I was frustrated with my progress. I didn’t think I was making enough of it; I wasn’t as fast or as strong or as light as I thought I should be. I didn’t feel like I was changing. So my trainer, a smart and ruthless bastard named Steve, told me to go look at my journal. In it, we could see that in just a two short months I had lost 35 pounds. While I was discounting that as being substantive progress, he disagreed. And so, he directed me to load 35 pounds into a backpack and I did that day’s WOD carrying an extra 35 pounds on my back.

I’ll never forget it. It was awful. And along the way, it reminded me that our minds can lie to us – we can forget how far we’ve come, and we can discount the progress we made, and we can undermine our future progress by straying from the course of consistency that got us this far. I’ve never forgotten that lesson, nor have I forgotten how valuable the hard data of a journal can be to fighting back the worst of our self-doubt.

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Story the second: I am over six months into a campaign now for public office. And while it’s been an exhilarating journey at times, the day-to-day grind is undoubtedly difficult. They say that years of hard work goes into every overnight success, and I can absolutely say that’s true. So when I’m having a hard day – as I was just this week – it’s super helpful to look at the data of over six months of hard work. Check the trendlines: sure enough, this week matches expectations. Every hard day is adding on to every easy day, and the end result is leading towards attaining my goals.

Without that data, I might be tempted to change course drastically… or even to stop completely. But with the data in front of me, it shows me that the hard work pays off. And even more, it tells me on a day when I might otherwise feel despair that everything is in fact on track; it tells me that I can take a night off and spend time with my family, and that tomorrow is another day to work towards my goal and that everything is going to be okay.

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Data is not the plural of anecdote, so I don’t expect you to take my word for it. But your coaches and I do encourage you to keep a journal and keep track of what you’re able to do each time you come in to CrossFit Somerville. Over time, this will become both the record of your journey and the proof that your consistency and effort pays off.

It’s all too easy to discount what we’ve done versus what we’d like to be able to do. Having a journal at hand can help us track the former and chart a course to the latter.

If you’d like a journal to do this, just ask – we’ll be glad to hand you a notebook, free of charge.

STRENGTH:
Heavy Power Clean x2
* sets across for at least 3 sets

WOD:
7 Rounds For Time
30 Double-Unders
15 Box Jump Overs (24/20)
10 Toes to Bar

* hard cap of 15 mins for all athletes
** intermediate/advanced athletes aim for 12/10 minutes or less