The Joy Metric - measuring what really matters
- Sue Bulmer
- Jan 19
- 3 min read
For years, I have been diligent about tracking my business metrics. You know the ones:
social media followers, sales, email subscribers, website visitors... Rows and columns of numbers in the front of my diary, offering a sense of growth, progress, or momentum.
And yet, last year, I realised something vital was missing.
All the dry numbers were there – but the most important ingredient wasn’t being measured at all. I added a new column to my spreadsheet.
I called it Joy.
It wasn’t scientific, precise and it didn’t come with graphs or projections. It was more about a 'feeling' and it helps me to understand my business more deeply. Because, it has to feel joyful. Otherwise what's the point? Don't get me wrong, numbers can tell you how a business is growing, they can help you gain knowledge about reach, stability and sustainability and they help you notice patterns, test out ideas and make decisions...
But they don’t tell you how it feels to be inside it and
They most certainly don’t tell you if you’re slowly burning out.
Starting to record qualitative data for my business is helping me to see when I feel energised or depleted, when creativity feels alive or squeezed, whether the work still feels meaningful and whether my body is quietly asking for rest and recuperation.
Looking Back: The Quiet Dip in Joy
AT the end of 2025, I looked back over my Joy column and something became very clear.
In the latter half of the year my joy began to dip. For a few months, I hadn’t recorded joy at all, in fact, I hadn't recorded anything! Not because those things weren't there, but because I was too tired to even notice.
Looking back now, the absence of those figures speaks volumes. It marked the early stages of burnout. Thankfully I noticed and took my 'winter' early.
Why Joy Is an important Business Metric
Joy isn’t frivolous or indulgent, and I don't think it is something to be earned only after success arrives. Joy is information. It offers valuable feedback about how your work is landing in your body, your creativity, and your life.
When you pay attention, joy can tell you when something is aligned and nourishing, and when something needs adjusting. It can signal when you’re pushing too hard, overstretching yourself, or working in ways that quietly drain rather than sustain you. A business that grows at the expense of joy will eventually ask for payment elsewhere, often through exhaustion, resentment, or a loss of creative spark. Hands up if that resonates!
Tracking joy doesn’t mean everything has to feel wonderful all the time. It simply means you’re paying attention to what’s happening beneath the surface, rather than overriding it in the name of progress.
An Invitation to Measure Differently
If you already track numbers in your creative work, business or life, I invite you to experiment with measuring differently. Try adding a column for joy. Approach it without pressure, judgement, or any need to fix what you find. Just notice. Give it a score or a word, or even a picture.
When you honour and listen to JOY it has a quiet way of guiding us back to what really matters. It has for me anyway.
I’m curious — does anyone else record their joy quotient? And what does it tell you when you look back?
Leave me a comment and let me know. I'm intrigued to find out more
I use my HOPSAC circle. It is segmented into 6 sections - Health, Others, Practicalities in bottom half. The top half is Spirituality, Adventure and Creativity. I draw a line to trace where each is at and aim for balance. It's cobbled together from other metrics . Maybe joy is to be found when being in the zone with each, celebrating the highs, even if it's just cleaning the kitchen!
Thank you! I always dip in the darker months. I often tell my friends to 'notice the little things' but rarely do it myself. I shall be including a 'joy' column in my journal as of today! 😁
Thank you so much for writing this! Like you said, if something doesn’t bring you “joy”, what’s the point!?
Recording our joy or gratitude quotient is something that everyone should do….for me, it allows me to remember why I do the things I do, and it allows me to adjust my attitude in remembering all the small, soft blessings that make life so wonderful!
Thank you Sue. Every day I write a ‘joy’ equivalent in my journal and tick that column. I write out what I’m loving right now, enjoying, feeling stimulated now. Simple things such as the tactile pleasure of my handmade coffee cup, the smell of winter air, the way a blackwing pencil leaves glorious smooth lead marks, etc. Sometimes I write lists of all the things I love doing, or the joy in anticipation of a whole weekend ahead to make art or a mini trip I’m planning and how the planning can be as much fun as the trip.