There are two rules on which this is based on.

1. If you can't measure it. You're wasting time. I once read about using systems over goals in order to measure progress. The idea was that instead of running towards a goal we setup a bar of consistency and then try to achieve it. And I agree with that. But often the running for the targets or progress we forget to measure it entirely.

Relying on just an idea or hunch of where we are. This is not the optimal.

Metrics are important in everything. Observability explains where we are.

Therefore there is need to set metrics about things we need to track. For anything that we want to achieve we need to have a tangible metric that would tell us where we are. That is the transparency we require to succeed.

2. The next best thing is to walk the proven path. In the seemingly rare cases when it's practically impossible to measure progress. The only choice left is to do what is proven to work. The idea of experimenting can be fine as long as the task in hand is not serious. But if so, then we need to follow the best practices.

The obvious implication of this is to be aware of the best practices. This is where passive learning is using. The challenges we face are not always our own, and solutions have already been created. Passive Learning makes it possible to be in touch with the best array of possibilities and dig deep when required. This is why reading is considered such a useful habit.