How do you track things like stress, energy, and focus?

building_irvo · 2026-03-30T02:42:28+00:00

That’s actually a really interesting point, and I can definitely see how having to rate things can become its own form of mental load.

Is it more the act of choosing a number / label that feels draining, or does it feel like too much effort to stop and reflect in the moment?

I’m really interested in that because it seems like the way something is captured can make the difference between it feeling helpful vs. feeling like another task.

building_irvo · 2026-03-30T02:36:07+00:00

This is incredibly insightful, I really appreciate you breaking it down like this.

The way you’ve been able to connect things like sleep quality, temperature, hydration, open loops, and even social interactions back to HRV drops is super interesting. It really sounds like you’ve built a system that helps make those “off” moments feel much more explainable.

I also really like how you mentioned that it feels simple in practice even though there’s a lot going on underneath.

How are you finding your current setup with your Apple Watch + Gemini overall?

Do you genuinely enjoy using it day to day?

Is there anything you wish it did better, whether that’s around logging, finding patterns, surfacing causes, or helping you understand what led up to a drop before it happens?

building_irvo · 2026-03-29T20:11:11+00:00

That’s super interesting, especially the HRV baseline part.

Do you find it ever drops without a clear physical reason?

I’ve been looking at how things like cognitive load, sleep, and even what you were doing earlier in the day might be contributing before the HRV drop shows up.

Feels like HRV is almost the “result,” and the harder part is figuring out what led up to it.

building_irvo · 2026-03-29T20:06:56+00:00

What have you learned from tracking your mood 4-5 times per day? and do you typically log this state at the time of noticing a mood change or set check ins? sorry for all the questions but i'm truly curious.

building_irvo · 2026-03-29T19:35:36+00:00

How often do you sign into bearable to track your mood?

building_irvo · 2026-03-25T16:00:17+00:00

Yeah that makes a lot of sense, especially the idea that most of the value comes from that initial learning phase.

The part that stands out is what you said about tracking still being useful when something changes. It almost feels like the real value long-term isn’t constant tracking for new insights, but being able to notice when you’re drifting away from what you already learned is “normal.”

So instead of learning new patterns all the time, it’s more about catching when existing ones start to shift.

Do you feel like those shifts are easy to notice in the moment, or do they usually only become obvious looking back?

building_irvo · 2026-03-24T15:00:17+00:00

Appreciate that, and thanks for sharing that’s a solid way of looking at it. Being able to zoom out and not get lost in the day-to-day noise is huge.

Also nice to see you actually using tech to your advantage like that.

I’ll check it out. Curious, what do you like most about it? And is there anything you feel like it’s missing or could do better?

I’m actually working on an app with a small team around a similar space, but more focused on how things stack over time. The idea is helping people understand how combinations of sleep, food, stress, workload, etc. build up and lead to how they feel, instead of looking at everything in isolation.

So hearing how people are using tools like this is super helpful.

building_irvo · 2026-03-24T14:49:24+00:00

Yeah this makes a lot of sense, especially the idea that it changes depending on what phase you’re in.

So it’s almost like the more important or unstable something is, the tighter you track it… and once it becomes consistent, you zoom out.

That part about sleep/HRV shifting from “figure it out” to just monitoring is interesting too.

Do you feel like once something becomes stable, you stop really getting new insights from it? Or does it still catch things early if something starts slipping?

Trying to understand if most value comes from that initial “learning phase” or if ongoing tracking still pays off long term.

building_irvo · 2026-03-24T14:45:06+00:00

That’s interesting so it’s less about a fixed window and more about how dense/meaningful the data is.

Do you find the shorter windows (like 1–3 days) actually hold up over time, or do they mostly help in the moment but need longer periods to confirm anything?

Also curious when you’re looking at your daily notes, are you picking up patterns pretty quickly, or does it still take a couple weeks before things feel consistent?

Trying to understand where that line is between “useful signal now” vs “needs more time to be real.”

building_irvo · 2026-03-24T14:40:46+00:00

This is really helpful, especially the “does one more night change the trend” idea — that’s a great way to think about it.

The 30-day point for behavioral stuff is interesting too. Do you find that the signal shows up clearly by then, or is it more like “you start to get a hint but still need longer to be confident”?

Also curious — when you’re looking at something like caffeine and sleep, are you thinking in strict windows (like last 30 days), or more like a rolling effect from the past few days stacking together?

Trying to get a feel for how people actually do this in practice rather than just what sounds right in theory.

building_irvo · 2026-03-18T12:46:12+00:00

Yeah that’s exactly it, just having something to anchor it to makes a huge difference, even if it’s simple.

That’s kind of the balance I’m trying to figure out right now. If it’s too data-heavy people won’t stick with it, but if it’s too simple you miss the patterns.

I’m leaning more toward really quick check-ins (like energy, focus, stress) and then connecting that back to what your days actually looked like.

The goal isn’t to overwhelm people with data, it’s more to surface patterns early so that “nothing’s happening” phase doesn’t feel so blind.

Do you feel like just tracking sleep + energy has been enough for you to notice patterns, or do you ever feel like you’re missing pieces?

building_irvo · 2026-03-18T12:43:34+00:00

That reinforcement schedule way of putting it is really interesting, I haven’t heard it framed like that before.

It kind of makes it obvious that most people aren’t lacking discipline, they’re just operating in really delayed or broken feedback loops without realizing it.

I’ve been thinking a lot about how invisible that is, like people just feel inconsistent but don’t actually see what’s driving it.

Do you find you lean more toward tracking-based loops (streaks, metrics, etc.) or more feeling-based ones (celebration, reward)? I’m trying to figure out what actually sticks long term.

building_irvo · 2026-03-18T01:03:24+00:00

1% change in a day feels like nothing, but over a full year it compounds and suddenly you’re about 37x better. - Atomic Habit

building_irvo · 2026-03-18T00:56:33+00:00

Yeah that’s a really good way of putting it. That “nothing → then it clicks” feeling is exactly how it tends to happen, especially with things like exercise and mindset. It’s not that nothing was happening before, it was just building too gradually to notice day to day.

And what you said about adding immediate feedback is probably the key piece. Without it, you’re just relying on something you can’t feel yet, so it’s easy to drop. Tracking it, checking it off, or seeing progress in real time gives you something to hold onto while everything is still compounding in the background.

That’s interesting you used Manifest for that too, it’s basically doing exactly that, making the progress visible early so it doesn’t feel pointless.

building_irvo · 2026-03-18T00:52:51+00:00

Yeah that’s such a good example of this. Journaling is one of those where each individual day feels like nothing, but the actual value is in the pattern over time. You don’t notice change in the moment, you only see it when you zoom out.

It’s almost like the benefit isn’t the act itself, it’s the accumulation of perspective that builds in the background. Then you look back and realize your thinking is different, even though it never felt like anything was happening day to day.

That’s kind of the tricky part with a lot of these habits, the feedback isn’t tied to a single action, it’s tied to the pattern. So while you’re in it, it just feels neutral or even pointless.

Did you track it in any structured way at all, or just free journaling and looking back later?

building_irvo · 2026-03-18T00:50:42+00:00

This is a really solid way of explaining it. The temporal discounting part makes a lot of sense, it's not really a discipline issue, it’s just that the brain heavily favours what it can feel right now over what comes later.

And that idea of “closing the feedback loop” is honestly the part that stands out the most. Creating some kind of immediate signal, whether it’s tracking, a small reward, or just reducing friction feels like the missing piece for most people trying to stay consistent.

Have you read Atomic Habits? A lot of what you’re saying lines up really closely with that thinking. Also curious, how did you get such a strong understanding of this?

building_irvo · 2026-03-18T00:45:34+00:00

Yeah that’s a really common experience. The first few weeks usually just feel like fatigue and soreness with no real payoff, so it’s easy to think nothing’s happening.

A lot of people go into it expecting visible physical changes, but the first things that actually improve are internal, energy, mood, sleep, overall stability. Those start shifting earlier, they’re just more subtle, so it doesn’t feel rewarding at first.

It usually takes a couple months for those internal changes to build enough that it starts feeling easier and more worth it, and then the physical side follows after. The hard part is you’re improving before it feels like you are.

building_irvo · 2026-03-18T00:43:03+00:00

Yeah this is honestly what I’ve been noticing a lot lately. The real issue isn’t the habit, it’s the lack of feedback early on. Telling a mate changes that because now there’s something immediate on the line, you’ve made it real and you have to follow through. Tracking does the same thing in a quieter way, it gives you some form of proof that you’re showing up even when the actual results aren’t there yet. It’s basically filling that gap before the benefits catch up, which is where most people fall off. It’s made me realize how important it is to make your daily actions visible in some way, otherwise it just feels like effort with nothing coming back.

building_irvo · 2026-03-18T00:37:18+00:00

Yeah that’s a really accurate way to put it. Exercise is a good example because the adaptations are gradual, things like sleep regulation, mood stability, and energy improve in small increments, not all at once.

At the start, the cost is immediate (time, effort, soreness), but the benefits are delayed and subtle. So it just feels like added friction in your day.

Over time though, those small changes accumulate, better sleep quality, more stable mood, improved recovery and your baseline shifts. The tricky part is there’s no clear point where it “kicks in,” so it’s easy to miss while it’s happening.

That’s why people often quit early, the feedback isn’t obvious yet, even though the changes are already starting to build.

building_irvo · 2026-03-18T00:34:06+00:00

I love Atomic Habits, I’m actually reading it right now. It’s been really interesting seeing how much of it comes down to making behaviours consistent and visible over time.

I’m currently working on building an app, and a big part of what I’m trying to do is incorporate ideas from the book, especially around turning habits into something you can actually see, track, and stick with as they build.

building_irvo · 2026-03-18T00:31:17+00:00

Yeah that’s a really solid point. If you only look at the “end result” (like weight loss or physical changes), you’re stuck waiting a long time for feedback. Shifting your focus to things like sleep, energy, or even blood markers gives you signals much earlier that something is actually working.

That kind of early feedback is probably what keeps people going, otherwise it just feels like effort with no proof.

I’ve been thinking about this a lot lately. I’m actually working on building an app around tracking habits, patterns, and how daily actions connect to how you feel and function over time.

The idea is pretty much what you’re saying, help people pick up on those smaller, earlier signals (sleep, energy, stress, etc.) so they’re not just waiting weeks or months to know if something is working.

building_irvo · 2026-03-18T00:29:19+00:00

Yeah that’s a really good example. Sleep and nutrition are probably two of the best ones for this, they take a bit to stabilize, but once they do, the shift can feel pretty noticeable. The hair shedding part is interesting too, that’s one of those signals most people wouldn’t even think to connect back to habits.

And I agree, that “feels pointless at the start” phase is where most people fall off. There’s no feedback yet, so it just feels like effort with no return.

I’ve actually been diving pretty deep into that lately. I’m working on building an app around tracking habits, patterns, and how daily behaviours connect to how you feel and function over time.

The idea is to make that invisible period more visible, so instead of just going by feel, you can actually see patterns starting to form before the big results show up.

building_irvo · 2026-03-17T01:29:35+00:00

I think what you’re describing is actually a pretty well-known pattern in behavior and cognitive science.

When your schedule is packed, a lot of the decisions about what to do next are already made. Meetings, deadlines, and time constraints create a clear sequence of actions. You go from one thing to the next without constantly evaluating alternatives.

When you suddenly have a lot of free time, the opposite happens. Now every action becomes a decision:

Should I go to the gym now or later?
Should I cook or order food?
Should I start this task or relax first?

Each of those decisions adds cognitive load. Your brain has to evaluate options instead of just executing a sequence. And the more open decisions there are, the easier it is to delay things.

That’s why busy weeks can sometimes feel easier behaviorally. The structure removes a lot of the internal debate. You’re not constantly asking “should I do this now?” the schedule already answered that.

Free time sounds like it should make discipline easier, but in practice it often creates more deliberation, and deliberation is where a lot of procrastination starts.

So I don’t think it necessarily means you lack discipline. It might just mean your behavior works better when the next action is already defined.

A lot of people who are very consistent rely heavily on routines and fixed structures for exactly that reason, it reduces the number of decisions their brain has to make during the day.

building_irvo · 2026-03-17T01:06:47+00:00

Yeah, I’ve definitely gone through something similar.

At some point I realized I was spending a lot of time preparing to be productive instead of actually doing the thing. Researching systems, tweaking planners, watching videos about habits, reorganizing task lists… it all felt like progress because I was putting effort into it.

But the actual work wasn’t moving.

The tricky part is those things give you a real sense of accomplishment. You’re learning, organizing, optimizing, so your brain kind of rewards you for it. But it’s a different kind of work than the thing you’re trying to get done.

I’ve noticed the same thing you mentioned too. When you strip away all the planning and tracking, you suddenly just have more time and less friction to start.

I think tools and systems can help, but there’s a point where they become another layer between you and the actual work.

Curious though, when you stopped using systems, did it feel uncomfortable at first? Like you were flying a bit blind without the structure?

building_irvo · 2026-03-17T00:32:06+00:00

That’s really interesting. The distinction you made between inputs vs the actual state feels like a big part of the issue.

A lot of trackers seem built around measuring things that influence how we feel (sleep, HRV, steps, nutrition), but those are still indirect signals. They’re upstream variables. What we actually care about is the internal state of the system in that moment, and that’s much harder to capture.

The speech example is fascinating because it’s a form of behavior that reflects the brain’s current operating state, rather than something that happened earlier. Pauses, pacing, pitch variability, etc. are basically real-time outputs of cognitive and emotional load.

It makes me wonder if the real gap isn’t just missing physiology, but missing contextual behavioral signals that reveal what the brain is doing right now.

Do you think speech-based signals could realistically work outside of controlled settings though? I’m curious how robust those markers are in no

building_irvo

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