I'm sorting out a system where each task on my todo-list is worth a certain number of points based not on how challenging the task is, but how difficult I find it to motivate myself to start.
I have thought about working on a similar system, too. Ideally, the points awarded for completing a task should be a function both of the intrinsic aversiveness of the task and of the benefit of actually completing it. One could then use Beeminder to commit oneself to scoring a certain number of points per day.
Some other people are already doing this. I had the vague idea for a while, but only bothered to actually do anything about it after reading Katja Grace's post about Beeminder on OB. The relevant part is this:
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- points accrued for doing tasks on my to-do list. When I think of anything I want to do I put it on the list, whether it’s watching a certain movie or figuring out how to make the to do list system better. Some things stay there permanently, e.g. laundry. I assign each task a number of points, which goes up every Sunday if it’s still on the list. I
Right now, I am counting steps each day and I logged them on paper everyday, as close to midnight as much as possible. Only yesterday did I achieve my 10,000 steps goal. I have only been doing it since Sunday. This is my fourth day. Yesterday, I started logging my weight (on paper) to see if walking 10,000 steps will help me lose weight. Granted, it's rather manual, but also easy to do. If I try to purchase a pedometer that syncs to your computer automatically, it will costs me 99 USD brand new. Adding wireless output to my weighing scale will cost money too. There are two conditions that could lead me to purchasing sophisticated solutions: I am loaded with money and or I am overwhelmed with data input.
For now, the important thing is that I keep doing it for 30-60 days for habit formations.
What are you doing for self-quantification?