What if you feel worse during an experiment?
A lower rating deserves attention and care. It is not a cue to push harder for the sake of data.
Pause the activity, consider what else changed, and choose a gentler option if you wish.
Open my labWhat to notice
Notice whether the activity itself felt draining or whether unrelated events dominated the week.
Record a 1–10 daily rating and whether you tried the activity. A missed day is useful context; it does not erase the rest of your week. At the first checkpoint, you can continue for seven or fourteen days, or choose something else.
How to interpret your result
If distress is severe, persistent or worsening, seek qualified support rather than relying on this tool.
Keep your original prediction separate from the daily ratings. Your starting rating, number of observations and changing circumstances all matter. A personal week can reveal a pattern worth exploring, but it cannot establish cause or statistical significance.
Evidence and context
This guide describes a small personal practice. For the wider research context, see Well-being-focused interventions: network meta-analysis of randomized trials. Research findings describe groups and study conditions; your lab records describe your own experience.