How do I practice energy tracking?

The most direct way to practice energy tracking is through a focused exercise: For the next seven days, set three alarms (morning, midday, evening). At each alarm, write down: (1) energy level 1-10, (2) mood in one word, (3) what you were doing in the last hour. Use paper, a notes app, or a spreadsheet — format doesn't matter, consistency does. On day eight, read all 21 entries sequentially. Circle any pattern you didn't expect.

Common pitfall: Tracking only when you feel bad — which creates a dataset that confirms you always feel bad. Or tracking for two days, seeing no pattern, and concluding the practice doesn't work. Energy and mood patterns only emerge across a minimum of seven days. Anything shorter is noise you're mistaking for signal.

This practice connects to Phase 10 (Externalization Mastery) — building it as a repeatable habit compounds over time.