I have been tracking aspects of my life for weeks now, as part of building an ememory, and one of the most important tools for this has been Daytum. Daytum is a website that helps users “collect, categorize and communicate [their] everyday data.” Daytum does this though a simple, elegant and extremely useful interface.
I have chosen to track the hours I spend exercising, the foods I eat, the amount time I spend sleeping and the hours I spend meditating. I’ll be adding more quantifiable bits of my life as I identify a need or desire to track them. The opportunities are endless for ways in which our lives can be tracked.
Nicholas Felton has produced yearly tabulations of his life he calls “Annual Reports” since 2005. These collections of graphs and charts concentrate the year into statistical chunks that illuminate his life in a wry but rigorous manner that has become popular with readers around the world. Ryan Case provided the inspiration, insight and abilities to evolve the methodology of the Annual Reports into this new self-expression platform.
Of course, Daytum becomes most valuable when used to measure progress toward goals. In my own case I am committed to making strength training a regular part of my life. Daytum allows me to record the time I spend doing each activity and ensure my fitness is being supported by my diet and sleep habits. Over time I will be able to identify habits that provide the best lifestyle and make sure they are lasting.
If you are taking on any life changing goal, or are just curious about your present life, I highly recommend diving into Daytum.
If you are feeling voyeuristic, you can look around my Daytum page.