I really like this question
When I was a new player, I measured growth more in terms of studying/application of new concepts than in terms of results.
Growth I was happy with included:
-Completing a new poker book
-Defining new poker term/concept
-Applying that concept in game
I also created studying goals in terms of number of hours a week to study. I studied way more than I actually played back in my broke college student days of learning, but I still made time to play every week. I made playing the reward for studying and that was very motivating because I loved that every week I could feel my understanding of the game increase while I played
Best of luck to you!