The Points System (Part 3): When the Data Starts Talking Back
Behavioral loops, dopamine hacks, and the real reason I quit coffee creamer
Quick Recap for New Readers:
In Part 1, I introduced the Points System—a scrappy, spreadsheet-based tool I built to track effort during a season when life refused to cooperate. The idea was simple: measure what I do, not just what I produce.
In Part 2, I got granular. I added categories, bonus points, and structure—not to be strict, but to be specific. “Walk” became “21 miles/week.” “Track weekly” became “submit by Tuesday at noon.” Vibes turned into data. And data, surprisingly, turned into kindness.
Now we’re in Part 3: the part where I stop pretending I’m a free-spirited creative who thrives on chaos and admit I’m a systems girl. This is the behavioral deep-dive.
Now we’re here:
Part 3 is where the data gets honest.
I No Longer Trust My Vibes
Turns out, if I don’t write it down, my brain erases it. I can have the most productive, balanced week of my life, but if it’s not on the spreadsheet? It’s like it never happened.
That’s not a mindset issue. That’s just my brain’s filing system.
So I’ve stopped trying to “feel like doing it” and started planning around when I actually do things. If something doesn’t happen before noon, odds are, it’s not happening at all. If it’s not written down? It might as well not exist.
The point isn’t to shame myself. It’s to stop negotiating with a version of me that doesn’t exist.
Applied Knowledge: Goodbye, Creamer
Here’s one of the most annoying things I learned: if I have sugar in the morning, the rest of my day goes sideways.
I’m not proud of this. I love sugar. I’ve tried to negotiate with sugar.
But the system doesn’t lie. And what it’s told me, over and over again, is that my afternoon mood is directly shaped by my morning coffee habits.
So I removed the coffee creamer from my fridge.
Now, I get two intentional lattes per week. The rest of the time? Black coffee or nothing. Not because I’m trying to be virtuous. But because I’ve finally accepted that “a little indulgence” at 9am often costs me my entire afternoon.
This is what I mean by behavior feedback. The data was there. I just had to listen.
Planning as Mood Regulation
I used to resist planning. I thought structure made me rigid or less creative.
But what I’ve learned is that my brain wants a plan—it just doesn’t want pressure.
Now, every Monday morning, I give myself what I call “Admin Hour.” It’s a soft planning session. No sprints. No deep work. Just a chance to look ahead, adjust the calendar, and set expectations for the week.
If I log that session by Tuesday at noon, I get 15 bonus points. But the real reward isn’t the points. It’s the internal shift. That small voice that says: you’re paying attention.
Adherence > Perfection
Some weeks I hit 100%. Most weeks, I don’t.
But I’ve stopped chasing perfection. I’m aiming for 80%—enough to build momentum, track patterns, and feel steady.
That’s probably the biggest behavioral shift: I no longer treat a missed task as a personal failure. I treat it as part of the rhythm. A low score isn’t evidence that I’m broken—it’s just data.
Behavioral Patterns I Now Plan Around
This is the part I didn’t expect: the system started showing me patterns I couldn’t unsee. Like:
If it doesn’t happen before noon, it’s probably not happening at all.
Late-night planning is a lie I tell myself.
Back-to-back social nights require built-in recovery or I’ll crash everything.
Even a single anchor task can turn a messy day around.
Sugar is a chaos agent. See above.
Bonus points still work. Bribing myself is effective, apparently.
The Real Win
Here’s what I’ve come to believe: behavior is changeable. But not through willpower. Through design.
The Points System isn’t “fixing” me. It’s helping me see clearly. It’s showing me what works, what doesn’t, and how I respond to my own patterns without judgment.
And that clarity? That’s what’s building trust.
Not the spreadsheet. Not the points. The honesty.
Coming Soon: The Points System, Part 4
After six months of tracking everything from my mood to my mileage, the data has started telling a bigger story.
It’s not just about habits anymore—it’s about designing a life that fits the way my brain actually works. From realizing I need weekly repetition or things don’t happen, to discovering that batching decisions keeps me sane, Part 4 explores what it means to shift from maintaining momentum to intentionally creating it.
I’ll be talking analog experiments, creative sprints, and what happens when tracking moves beyond self-improvement into something more honest: self-alignment.
Because the truth is, I don’t need more willpower. I need better systems.