Am I getting better?
The power of tracking your improvement, without stressing.
My friend and I were sitting at a coffee shop, mugs in hand, a little weary, yet happy to be there. She leaned in and asked the question that’s been weighing on her heart.
How do I even know if I’m getting better?
Maybe you’ve had that question.
I get it. You are working hard at your health, working to heal, and it may not feel like you’re improving. While things are changing, healing, and rebuilding under the surface, how would you know?
Tracking progress is one way, but it can feel like one more thing to do. One more app, one more chart, one more reminder that things aren’t where you want them to be. And to be honest, I don’t track everything either. Despite being a systems thinker through and through, I don’t live by spreadsheets or macros. I live by trends. I look at the story unfolding over time, like a movie I’m both directing and starring in.
The bottom line is that how you track is as personal as how you take your coffee. Black, frothy, with a splash of coconut milk—it’s up to you.
There is no one-size-fits-all method. There’s only one key question: Is what I’m doing helping me move forward, or keeping me in the same loop?
A note for new subscribers, since there are a few of you — hello! I’m Dr. Alice Burron, and I publish this newsletter twice a week on Tuesdays and Thursdays. We de-bunk health myths and learn to think about our health and healing in new, fresh ways — no fluff or nonsense. This newsletter is always free. Thanks for joining!
Let’s Redefine What Tracking Really Means
Tracking is simply paying attention over time. It’s the act of observing your health, habits, or progress so you can spot patterns, make adjustments, and move in the direction you want to go.
Why do it? Because if you don’t track, you’re guessing. If you do track, even loosely, you’re gathering clues and knowledge—and that’s how you learn.
From my experience, most people think tracking is tedious. I used to bristle at the thought of tracking, but when I did track, I was always glad I did.
Turns out I understood the value of it, but I just didn’t like the process. So I had to change my thinking about tracking as not being a chore; it’s simply a check-in. This mindset has allowed me to track many things, not just biometrics. I began asking questions like….
“How am I doing today?”
“Better or worse than yesterday?”
“Is this a blip… or a trend?”
“What does my body need right now?”
Sure, you can track using a formal app, like MyFitnessPal or Apple Health. Or it can be as simple as a pause in the shower when you scan your body and think, Huh, my left shoulder’s tight today. Why’s that?
For me, simply observing my health using a floating six-week window has been very helpful in keeping a good health perspective. I don’t log daily details—I zoom out and observe the broader movement.
Am I generally doing better? Did I learn something new? Do I feel more hardy or less hardy? And many times, that’s enough. But if you want to get into the details to really “see” if your health interventions are working, get as detailed as you like. You’ll learn so much about yourself if you can commit to it.
Victor Frankl wrote that between stimulus and response, there is a space. In that space is our power to choose what to do. That space is our health intervention, and what we decide to do about it. But in that space is also where the process of tracking resides.
When you notice something—fatigue, tension, that weird foggy-headedness—you gain knowledge, and knowledge leads to power. You can then pause and adjust.
Sometimes it’s as basic as revisiting the Core 4: Exercise. Nutrition. Hydration. Sleep. You can read more about that here!
The Core 4: The Ultimate Path to Healing
A comprehensive look at the Core 4. Simple, but effective.
When one of those buckets gets low, symptoms show up like flashing dashboard lights. Often, fixing one bucket refuels the others. One glass of water, one walk around the block, one full night of sleep—and suddenly your body says, Thank you. I’ve got this now.
Or maybe you notice a rapid increase in a symptom. A doctor’s visit sooner rather than later might be in order.
What to Track (Hint: It's More Than Symptoms)
Yes, you can track biometrics, like blood pressure, cholesterol, weight, and I encourage you to do that. Your body talks in mysterious ways - biometrics is one of its languages.
You can also track symptoms like pain and ability to concentrate, which are the clues your body is leaving behind. Take note. But if all that seems overwhelming, at least track your efforts:
Your resilience (Did I bounce back faster this time after implementing this intervention?)
Your choices (Did I choose rest more often than not when I felt my symptoms?)
Your growth (Am I learning more about what makes my symptoms feel better?)
Your progress (Have I gained some ground on this symptom this week?)
None of these need a chart—just awareness. Maybe you can associate brushing your teeth with making a mental note of how you feel. Set a time of day to check in with your health. You can do a full body scan or just ask some simple questions about how you’re feeling and how you perceive your health progress. I urge you to track something, even if you’re feeling well. Something is better than nothing because it keeps you aware. Awareness keeps you in tune with your health.
Looking Backward to Move Forward
We often forget how far we’ve come. That’s why reflection matters. Even if you're still dealing with a health concern, you can still improve by asking better questions and making clearer choices. This leads to faster recovery and catching things earlier.
That’s tracking progress in a whole different way.
If You’re in the Middle of a Messy Health Situation…
…especially something nebulous like fatigue, anxiety, or chronic pain, tracking can be a game-changer. Even a simple line graph or daily health journal—like the tools I offer in Chapter 16 of my book Health Shift—can help you see patterns that your brain can’t always recognize in the moment.
I’ve seen people reclaim their health by simply realizing that they crash after work every Friday, their gut reacts after specific situations, or they sleep better on the weekends. Even these small clues can lead us to take the next best step. And, when you catch the negative cycles, you can devise plans to break them.
Start Simple
Here’s a simple first step: ask this tonight before bed:
“What did I do today that supported my health, and what pulled me off course?”
That’s it. Just notice. Over time, that noticing becomes a compass.
You don’t need to measure everything. You don’t even need to track every day.
But you do need to be aware of your health. Pay attention. Tracking, even if it’s just paying attention, is how we remember where we’ve been, where we’re going, and how we can shift our health in the right direction.
So, take a sip of that coffee or tea with me right now, exhale a little deeper, and remind yourself that you’re not stuck, you’re in process. Could it be that you’re generally making progress? Or maybe all you need is a minor adjustment? Just knowing that has given you an idea of what to do next.
Have a great weekend, health heroes, and I’ll see you on Tuesday for the next edition.
Dr Alice
A little more about Dr. Alice Burron and Strategic Action Health:
Dr. Burron is a co-founder of Strategic Action Health, dedicated to helping organizations help their employees make better health decisions. Come check us out here!
Catch us on Instagram: @the.health.navigator and @dr_burron
You can also connect on LinkedIn, if you want to be professional about it. 👓
Buy the book Health Shift here.
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