I’ve dabbled in the quantified self movement on and off. If you’re not familiar with the “quantified self,” it’s basically a movement that focuses on using technology to collect data about one’s daily activities and behaviors. This often involves using wearable devices, such as fitness trackers, to track things like steps taken, calories burned, and quality of sleep. The idea is to use this data to gain insights into one’s own health and well-being, and to make more informed decisions about one’s daily activities and habits. Some people also use the quantified self movement to track other aspects of their lives, such as their work habits or personal relationships. The goal is to use data to better understand oneself and improve one’s overall quality of life.
I started the year off strong tracking everything – fitness, water intake, mood, books read, movies watched, TV shows watched, and sleep among a few other stats. I did good the first half of the year, but by July I was bored of it and so I topped tracking apart from what my Garmin watch tracks and Apple Health tracks without me having to do anything except wear the watch.
The stats I’m about to share with you as a part of my year-in-review are incomplete. I’ll start off with my most consistent stat which is my gym time. I use the My Gym Hero app to track my workouts.
Gym Stats
Walking and Cycling
This is definitely incomplete as I don’t turn on my Garmin tracker every time I go for a walk. I tend to record bigger walks or walks that are not one of my normal local walking routes. Same with cycling. I didn’t record my local rides. And has you can see, I’m summer cyclist!!
My Water Consumption
Haha! My blood is a mixture of coffee and water!
Mood and Activity Tracker
I used Daylio to track my mood and activities. I tracked diligently until I got bored with it. I do think, in the true spirit of the quantified self that this app very useful. You can also use it as journal to capture your thoughts and pictures. I only used it for the mood and activity tracker. Dayone is my got to journal!
The main thing I learned from tracking my mood and activities is that I am mostly in a good mood. Very rarely was I in sup optimal mood. It appears I don’t go to extremes. I’m not often overly excited, nor I am I sad or angry or any of those kinds of moods often. I’m just a middle of the road average happy guy I guess. Although it did raise some questions in my mind. Am I just not in touch with the full range of emotions that we are capable of as humans?
These are the main stats I tracked this year, at least the first half of the year. I think, to not get bored with the tracking, I need to embrace the movement correctly and have periodic check-ins and goals for each of the things I track and then correlate the data with how I feel health wise – mentally, physically, and emotionally.
I’ll add that to my list for 2023.