Business

5 Reasons Why Constantly Looking At Your Stats Will Kill Your Motivation

And What You Can Do To Avoid It

I love stats. They’re great at telling me what’s working well with my online ventures and what’s not. I spend far too much time on Google Analytics looking at how my various websites are doing. I’m new to Medium but spend way more time than is necessary looking at my non-existent page views.

Stats can be great but more than likely if you’re in the early phases of your adventure or even some way through they could also kill the very thing you’re trying to grow.

#1 — When They Suck They Can Demotivate You

The biggest reason why stats can be a hindrance is that when they suck, they can make you question everything.

I remember logging into my Google Analytics for my first website time and again over the first few months and seeing ZERO activity. It was the same on our Amazon Associates account where our affiliate commissions were being traced.

Whenever you look at your stats and find there’s little or no movement since you last checked 20 minutes prior, it can deflate your efforts.

You can end up going round in circles in your head thinking ‘why do I even bother when nothing’s happening’.

#2 — They Can Put You Off Just Before You’ve Made a Breakthrough

It’s said that most bloggers will quit within the first 3 months. I can completely understand this, as the first 3 months of our first site were the toughest.

We made no money at all, and visitor numbers were pretty poor. But that’s completely normal. What made it even more challenging though was the fact I kept looking at the stats incessantly.

When you do this and find that your numbers still suck, it can take you pretty close to quitting. This is especially the case in the early days, but you may end up doing so just before you’ve seen a breakthrough.

If I had walked away from our first site within the first 3 months, I would have been weeks away from a spike in users and our first sales.

#3 — They Can Make The Journey Feel Endless

When you are constantly in your stats watching every single digit move, it can be very difficult to get a sense of the progress you are making.

You end up focusing on each individual movement in isolation rather than looking at your overall progress. This can make your goals feel unobtainable because your brain effectively ends up being bombarded with signs that you’re not making real progress even if you are.

#4 — It Makes It Harder To Spot Trends

When you are looking at individual stats so often, it can make it very difficult to analyse the data and spot trends that could lead to new insights and opportunities.

You can’t see the wood from the trees.

When you are constantly stuck in the numbers, you may not spot patterns that you would if you were coming into it fresh.

#5 — It’s A Distraction

Checking your stats can make you feel cool, let’s admit it. It makes you feel like whatever it is you are doing is real, tangible. But the issue is when you are doing it too often it ends up being nothing more than another distraction and no doubt you have plenty of those.

So We’ve Established Getting Lost In Your Stats Sucks, But What Can You Do About It?

Instead of checking your views or revenues every 20 minutes, why not try to schedule specific times each month or week to take a closer look at your numbers?

This will help conserve your motivational energy and keep you pushing for longer without feeling deflated.

From what I’ve seen when you are first getting started, this is a must as it could easily be the difference between you carrying on and losing momentum.

Keep Your Expectations Realistic

As well as scheduling when you look at your stats, you’re probably best served by keeping a realistic set of expectations, especially in the early days.

For example, I kept reminding myself that it takes 6 to 12 months, typically for a new site to start seeing real action from Google search traffic. This helped keep things in perspective when I wasn’t seeing much in the early days and it meant I just kept focused on producing content which eventually led to activity.

This doesn’t mean you should aim low but keep your head up if the numbers aren’t what you want, especially early on.

Make It Harder To Check Them

If those ideas are much too sensible for your liking then simply try to make it harder to look at your stats every 5 minutes. I did this by:

• Deleting the Google Analytics app from my phone so I had to go to a browser to check them
• Removing the various stats pages from my bookmarks and recent history

Final Thoughts

Controlling your fixation on stats could make or break your success in your online activities. It can sap your energy by:

1 — Demotivating you

2 — Putting you off before a breakthrough

3 — Make your journey seem longer

4 — Make it harder to spot trends

5 — Serving as a distraction

To keep on top of it, you can try to:

• Schedule specific times to review your data
• Keep your expectations realistic
• Make it harder to check your stats

*Now, with that said, I’m off to check my Medium stats.*