Three Ideas for 2010 Part III: Lifelogging and Self Tracking

Happy 2010! Note this is the third in a three-part series on ideas anyone can ride in 2010 and beyond. - part I is here and part II is here.

Image credit: Evernote Web site

One of the great mindset shifts from the last decade is that today, finally, people of all walks are recognizing that what gets captured and measured gets managed (to quote Peter Drucker).

In 2010 and beyond we will become far more savvier about using data (both our own and aggregate streams) to make decisions large and small. Those who commit themselves to becoming data-driven will be in the best position to succeed both in business and in life - just ask Google. Consider leading yourself and inspire others to do live and work the same. In 2010 I am personally trying to apply data-driven tools, thinking and insights to all of my goals.

One way anyone become more data-driven by logging his/her life. This isn't a new idea. In fact, it's ancient. Consider former senator Bob Graham. He takes meticulous daily notes on the mundane to foreign policy in notebooks and has done so for decades.

"I start each month with a fresh notebook, the color which would follow the last notebook of the previous month.  On the inside cover of the notebook I write the information which will determine its overall position in the total collection of notebooks (the first notebook used in July of 2009 would be 7/09A), the date upon which the notebook was commenced and completed, and the information which would assist in recovery of the notebook should it be lost (address, home-office-cell numbers and email address) and, finally, an index of when the sections of notebook were completed by my having finished the “things to do” lists  in that notebook."

Self-tracking goes beyond just capture, though. You need to use the data to glean insights. Google Spreadsheets has a great way to do this with their gadgets. You can even set up forms for to make capturing the data even easier. For more on this topic, read Chris Brogan's "three words," Flowing Data and The Quantified Self. Other tools to look at include 23andMe, Nike Plus, Evernote and a host of others. 

Oh and if you think this is just for geeks, think again. Even parents are obsessed with data. For more, see the video embedded below or here.

There's no doubt in my mind that if you dedicate yourself to using data wisely to plan and measure you will succeed no matter what your goals are. And, increasingly, the tools to make this happen are getting easier and more accessible all the time.

Comments

[jeffjaner]

Completely agree that it's becoming easier than ever to capture and use data to glean insights and plan. And, we think that data will become the core of a new interaction model between consumers, publishers and brands. As an example, here's Gary Vaynerchuk's CrushIt! book as an automatically enhanced data object: http://sprng.me/chn Gary has made it easy for anyone to capture, personalize, comment, share, use and buy this book.(Full disclosure, I'm a Springpad co-founder)

[Kevin Meyers]

Great post, Steve, but I have yet to find a solution that makes it easy and elegant to track everything in my life. I have separate iPhone apps that track my diet and my weight, as well as Remember the Milk to track my tasks, Google Calendar to track my committments, RunKeeper to track my workouts, and Evernote to track everything else. I wish there was one simple app that tracked everything. Would love to read more about the tactics you use to track your life.

[apollolemmon]

One of my favourite lifelogging tools is Daytum (http://daytum.com). I find that tracking my progress on life changes online gives me a sense of accountability because I know others can monitor my commitment, whether they choose to or not.

[Ron L.]

I agree with Kevin. I'm obsessed with data collection and logging the important areas of my life, but there is no solid solution that encompasses every need. And the worst part is they are prone to tweaking and adjustment, so it's easy to fall into the trap of spending more time on your collection system than on collection itself. And I'm a Mac user, I couldn't imagine trying to setup something similar on a Win machine.

[Curtis]

I second the daytum.com recommendation, nice tool.

[Amy]

There's a useful app called GoalHappy.com that lets you easily track goals and habits. I came across it while looking for an easy way to track my goals from my android phone. It's really simple to use, has pretty graphs and allows you to make certain goals public and lets friends monitor your progress.

[jeremywho]

I like the information in your article. But at the risk of being a d*ck, its hard to take you seriously when there are so many grammatical errors in your writing. I wasn't looking for them but came across at least four.

[Steve Rubel]

You are right and I will do better. 

[Eric]

Great read! I'd be stoked if you could check out Eternos.com and let me know what you think. Obviously we're not about lifelogging as described by Bell in "Total Recall." We're more focused on chronicling your online persona and important life events in order to paint an accurate picture of who you are/were. I'd love to hear your thoughts. -E

[shahjadali]

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[coach bags]

Thanks for the nice blog. It was very useful for me. Keep sharing such ideas in the future as well. This was actually what I was looking for, and I am glad to came here! Thanks for sharing the such information with us.