Extra Day, Extra Insights: How Will We Track Our Time?
Findings from Our 4th Community Survey! A Deep Dive into How We Track, Understand, and Care in the Digital Age.
2024's Conventional and Unconventional Tracking Trends
Above is a link to the fourth survey I've conducted and reported on within our community. Each survey explores how we use technology to infuse our lives with a sense of reality, purpose, and joy. We then discuss the future trajectory of this technology.
Writing about memory and privacy, as well as engaging in constant conversations about New Year resolutions all of January and February, made me reflect on how we monitor our goals and track our lives.
After analyzing the responses from all four surveys, I've identified a narrative:
Individuals in our community perceive moments as real by reflecting on them, engaging in discussions, and utilizing technology to document and revisit them.
Our community highly appreciates both major infrequent rituals and minor regular ones. Even though many of us are not engineers, we incorporate technology into our routines.
We use various applications, such as Spotify Wrapped, Goodreads Challenges, and Strava miles, to track our activities, review our year and stay dedicated to our objectives.
In exchange for a heightened sense of reality, enhanced rituals, or a sense of achievement, these applications retain our data.
Nearly everyone in the community has concerns about the privacy and security of the technology we currently use, especially considering its rapid advancement. There are worries about potential emotional distress, lack of control over data, misuse of data, and data breaches. Most individuals are unsure how to prevent these issues.
Yet, according to the last survey, 90% of us plan to use technology to track our goals and keep up our daily routines moving forward, anyway.
Even those rejecting technology as much as they can, and identifying with a Luddite lifestyle, use multiple apps to track their lives.
This story provides a simple insight: as a community, we've come to accept that technology increasingly dominates our lives and is beyond our control.
I work as a Director of Product because I want to exert some control over the technology that is increasingly dominating our lives.
I create and write about these surveys because I aim to dig deeper, to learn, and to build better technology.
I have a few curiosities:
What distinguishes authentic moments from self-created rituals and tracked activities?
Can one activity fit into all three categories?
When I think about it, taking a long sunset walk comes to mind. I feel most alive, it's my little ritual to see the sunset every day, and I track it when I do.
Why is the practice of creating and tracking our To-Dos so appealing and considered a valuable addition to our daily routine?
In order to learn about all that, in the latest survey, I sought to understand the value people place on tracking their activities and goals.
I also wanted to determine whether this practice is beneficial and, if so, whether we are tracking things that truly add authenticity and joy to our lives.
How is our community using technology to understand ourselves and our behaviors?
This was the question I asked.
It's important to mention that while I work in tech as a Director of Product, our community is diverse, including engineers, consultants, teachers, artists, and writers. However, there is less diversity in terms of age (20-50s) and social class (everyone can afford technology). It's also apparent that those who would participate in a tracking survey are already inclined to digitally input their personal information for a larger purpose.
Every survey participant admitted to using technology to track something, with the majority indicating they monitor more than one item. A little more than half of the people noted that they used fitness and health apps, apps with reading challenges and music streaming apps.
The most common response under "Other" was calendar apps. This was surprising, given that I had not considered Google Calendar's tracking of my information when I created the survey. This is especially noteworthy because I use this app daily to log my activities. Even when scheduling time to create the survey, I used Google Calendar. What kind of spell did Google Calendar cast on me to make me forget?
The Notes app was the second most common response. Despite the availability of numerous task-specific apps, many people prefer using Notes for task management. How is it that a blank page can sometimes be most helpful?
Period trackers were the third most popular response. Does tracking carry a gender bias? Do women monitor their days more than men? After all, we track our periods for hygiene purposes, to gather the necessary information for creating life, and as a reminder that life doesn't stop once a month. Simplistic tracking apps, significant implications!
So, what were the most popular apps tracked by us in 2023?
Presenting… 2023 App Superlatives:
Spotify was the most mentioned app, in the whole survey.
I use both Spotify and Apple Music. However, no one ever mentions Apple Music. (I was never considered the cool one). Apple Music is included in my Apple subscriptions, and fits all my needs, but is less social than Spotify. Occasionally, I recreate a playlist on Spotify just for sharing purposes.
Spotify effectively capitalized on the idea that sharing a song is a way to express love. On that note, if you have a joyful song, please send it over, because I’m making a playlist!
Goodreads is the most popular book app.
My book club enjoys engaging with each other's Goodreads reviews and tracking book progress. We find the social component endearing, and we appreciate how it syncs quotes from our Kindles.
Some of my friends fight loudly for StoryGraph. If you’re into more detailed stats on reading and also supporting Black woman-owned independent companies (vs Goodreads which is owned by Amazon), give the StoryGraph a fair chance.
Find me on both!
Letterboxd is the only app anyone mentioned that touches on art.
I found this so surprising because many in my community share my love for art…
Letterboxd is the Goodreads of film. This app has nothing to do with Letterboxing.
Yes, I count film as art.
Letterboxd itself is easy to use but has a lot less interesting information and data than I expected. I have a lot of feedback.
Free idea 💡! Consider developing an app similar to Letterboxd but for various forms of art. This wouldn't be like Instagram or Pinterest. Let me know if you're interested in building this with me!
Strava has a more dominant presence than other running apps, so no other app was mentioned.
In fact, no other activity app was specifically named. Strava is making running a social activity.
I personally enjoy AllTrails, but it seems to be less discussed, likely due to its lack of a social component. This is peculiar because hiking is often a social activity.
Oura ring was mentioned more times than every other health app.
Many of us have a free health app on our phones, yet the Oura ring, which costs at least 300 dollars and takes time to acquire, is becoming increasingly popular. Seeing more of my friends wearing Oura rings has been great marketing and it is almost making me want one myself.
Goodbudget is a highly regarded alternative to the popular budgeting app, Mint.
Mint, a well-used budgeting app, is scheduled to shut down on March 23, 2024.
Goodbudget, a preferred alternative, has a paid premium plan ($10 a month) that several survey respondents ended up subscribing to after using the trial.
There are so many tracking apps but Everyday wins for tracking more than one habit.
As humans, we are so interested in tracking habits that most habit trackers aren’t free.
Habit Tracker is one free app that I find weirdly hard to use.
Atoms is really wonderful to try one time because it helps you understand why you even want to start the habit. If you read Atomic Habits, you’ll get more value than using the app.
Everyday won out for me because you can have 3 habits for free, it a super simple app to use, and you see how you’re doing instantly by looking at a colorful line. It is also built by a Joan, a Spanish photographer and coder, and he seems friendly.
Notes wins as the most versatile app.
Kiely has a unique way of using the Notes app to track her social life. I wrote about it here. On Notes also tracks her habits such as drawing, reading, and walking.
My favorite weekly alert is when a friend uploads a photo of her outfit to our shared note. She uses this note to track and reflect on her evolving personal style. Meanwhile, I use her note to feel as if I'm playing dress-up in her bedroom, making me feel like I see her more often than I really do.
This same friend also keeps track of physical items in her room, such as wardrobe pieces or apartment items. The goal is to decrease the percentage of new purchases each year, while also reducing the overall number of items acquired.
"While I'm not a complete minimalist, I am attempting to be highly intentional with my material consumption in an effort to be more sustainable," says Alexa.
How We Feel is the app I was most delighted to discover through this survey.
How We Feel helps me track my energy levels and emotions by categorizing them rather than asking generic intimidating questions like, "So, are you feeling depressed?"
It starts with "Tap the color that best describes how you feel right now." The color matrix includes red for "high energy/unpleasant," yellow for "high energy/pleasant," purple for "low energy/unpleasant," and green for "low energy/pleasant." Then, you choose between a list of adjectives that might more specifically describe your feelings, and the app provides definitions for each.
The design of it all is thoughtful and calming.
If you choose, it’ll send you a notification “how are you feeling right now?” a few times a day and such, you can track very specifically your mood and energy levels.
I am impressed with how the app acknowledges the impact that energy has on our moods. I track my own energy, as talked about in this post.
Moreover, the analytics are appealing and very helpful.
Last week, I experienced plumbing issues. I see a clear story from the analytics. I initially felt negative at the start of the day when the issues came to mind. However, keeping myself busy and moving brought about a sense of balance and peace. By the end of the day, when I was alone and needed to relax, I felt a high-energy jitteriness.
The app reminds, "People who use more words to describe feelings are better at managing their emotions and getting their needs met."
Using How We Feel has been a wonderful reminder to nuances of these words. What distinguishes jittery, irritated, frustrated, and anxious? Instead of just saying I feel "bad," can I be more specific ?
By using the app, I've learned to articulate my feelings better.
Moreover, I appreciate the easily accessible educational tools it offers free of charge.
These include movement exercises, lessons about the science of emotions, and quick mental exercises that anyone can complete within a few minutes.
How We Feel includes a social feature that lets me share my emotions with friends.
This feature made me consider which friends I'm comfortable sharing my emotions with. Realizing the number of people I can share with filled me with gratitude. Let me know if you'd like to track our emotions together!
Consider how all these apps include social elements.
How did tracking evolve from a solitary activity to a social one? Was it ever truly solitary to begin with? Have we always been monitoring and discussing tracking?
The human impulse to measure and count is as old as humanity itself.
Brendan Kelly, a Professor of Psychiatry at Trinity College, discusses this topic in detail and provides examples from history, such as the Cubit—an early unit of measurement based on the length of the forearm. The Cubit, possibly dating back to 3000 B.C., was so widely used it was even mentioned in the Bible. This early form of quantification highlights our inherent need to make sense of the world around us.
Kelly highlights that while the concept of self-reflection isn't novel, what's relatively new is the trend of meticulously measuring and quantifying ourselves - our actions, their frequency, and their impact.
In recent years, this compulsion to self-monitor and evaluate has escalated significantly. This shift can be traced back to the 1970s when the advancement of technology facilitated the development of tools and methods for self-quantification.
Fitness trackers and smartwatches, like those from Fitbit and Apple, are prime examples of this trend, utilizing built-in sensors to collect and analyze these types of data in real time. Such devices and their associated apps have made self-monitoring of health and fitness accessible and mainstream, contributing to the rise of the Quantified Self movement in America.
We are now in an era where data and statistics have become integral to how we understand ourselves and our behaviors.
What value do we find in tracking our activities and goals?
Our survey responses indicated that we use tracking for the following reasons:
As a form of entertainment
To identify and visualize trends
As reminders to focus on what's important
For motivation
To develop time organization skills
For accountability
For peace of mind when health stats are consistent
To feel a sense of pride when goals are achieved
Clearly, tracking various items yields different values, possibly explaining why we monitor multiple things.
What is the science behind tracking?
Tracking gives us dopamine, something many of us crave daily.
Professor Kelly talks about how we experience a dopamine rush when we measure something, and an even bigger rush when that measurement changes.
Completing tasks and observing changes trigger dopamine release, a neurotransmitter associated with pleasure, motivation, and reward. This mechanism can explain why tracking progress (such as seeing improvements in health metrics or ticking off items on a to-do list) feels rewarding.
Adding a psychological and philosophical perspective, tracking can momentarily reduce the uncertainty of the world. Whatever we measure becomes less unknowable. This is another reason why we strive to measure as much as possible.
As a refugee, I am aware that any day can bring significant change. Tracking days that follow a routine, without any life-altering events, gives me a sense of peace.
Do we focus on what we can measure because we are scared about what we can’t?
Are we tracking what is important to us?
Given our inclination towards tracking, we often find things to track, even when they're not closely related to our life's overarching goals.
The immediate rushes of dopamine are often more enticing than our long-term goals. For example, I experience more of a thrill when my fitness app alerts me that I've achieved my daily goal, rather than picturing myself in better shape. Similarly, I feel more excitement when I record that I write daily, rather than reflecting on how my writing is improving.
Many are focusing on the same things. In our society, where there's a significant focus on appearance and achievements, it's understandable that many of us invest time in setting long-term fitness and hobby/career goals.
Today's technology supports this pursuit. We have scales that sync with our phones to display trends in our body fat composition. Various devices can monitor our physical activity. Tracking apps even allow us to log the frequency of our hobbies.
With our current technology, tracking fitness, career, and achievement goals is easy.
But is it as important as it is easy?
If asked about what I consider important in life and what I would prioritize teaching my children, I wouldn't start with "you need to be an accomplished fit person." Would you?
What is important to focus on?
Scientists, psychologists, and product leaders involved in making technology decisions (hi!) understand that measurable aspects are not always the most important.
But how do we determine what is significant enough to measure?
Many people, including Buddhists, focus deeply on this question.
Buddhists embrace the concept of the immeasurables- lovingkindness, compassion, joy, and equanimity.
These are the boundless qualities (apramana) that Buddhists consider to be of utmost importance:
Lovingkindness (Metta): This is the quality of unconditional love and goodwill towards all beings, without any expectation of something in return. It's about wishing happiness and well-being for others, extending from close ones to strangers and even adversaries.
Compassion (Karuna): Compassion involves recognizing the suffering of others and feeling motivated to help alleviate that suffering. It's not just about understanding someone's pain but also having an active desire to mitigate it.
Joy (Mudita): This is the capacity to take active delight in others' happiness and successes, rather than feeling envy or jealousy. It's a pure form of happiness that arises from seeing joy in others, celebrating their well-being and achievements as if they were your own.
Equanimity (Upekkha): Equanimity is a state of mental stability and calmness, achieved by treating everyone impartially, without attachment or aversion, regardless of their actions or behaviors. It involves maintaining a peaceful mind in all situations, both good and bad, allowing one to remain balanced amidst life's ups and downs.
While our community is not strictly Buddhist and tends to be more individualistic, many agree that the qualities mentioned above are vital for life.
I've shared Brené Brown's exercise of choosing two core values with numerous community members, as outlined in my blog post. Brown lists Achievement, Self-Discipline, and Success as possible values. However, none of those were chosen, even by the most meticulous trackers. I selected Safety and Joy, also known as Mudita and Upekkha. Love was the value most frequently selected.
If the aforementioned are our values, are we measuring what is truly important to us, or are we merely measuring what technology can assess and what quickly stimulates us?
What would we track, if we could?
In the survey, I asked: What aspects of your life do you wish could be tracked that aren't typically measured by current technology?
The answers were beautiful:
The number of times I felt loved
The number of times I felt appreciated
The number of times I felt creative
The time spent on public transit
The time spent with individuals
The number of days with a headache
The number of stressful days
The number of happy moments
The times of day when I feel most energetic
Personal CO2 emissions
Things that made me laugh or smile on the subway
The growth of my plants each year 🌱✨
Time spent with each person in my life
The number of times I've seen my friends happy
The number of times I've loved
What is our future with tracking?
Tracking the above might redefine what we notice more and what we then, consider a good week, month, year.
"It could help rebalance life," Sara noted.
"Tracking how much my plants grow every year means personal success and well-being can be reflected in my care for other things outside myself," Kiely stated.
"Maintaining a record of the beautiful mundane makes it more visible," another person wrote.
Why can’t we track the above? We can!
From a technological perspective, aside from CO2 emissions, we can attempt to track almost everything on the above list. Most suggestions can either be manually recorded or monitored using a habit tracker app.
Let’s dive into the specific examples:
One of our members uses Bear, a note-taking app to maintain an “ineffable list of ineffable things I encountered in life”.
How We Feel tracks energy levels and on top of that, has “happy”, “compassionate” and “empathetic” and “loved” as adjectives to track & choose.
Every time I experience love, I can simply press a few buttons on How We Feel to track trends, like who I was with or what exactly occurred when I felt this way.
Truthfully, I already snap a photo any time I feel joyful on 1SE, and that is more work.
Manual tracking can indeed be time-consuming. However, if we devote time anyway to record our other habits, we can also opt to document instances when our friends appear happy or times when we feel loved.
Note - If we decide to manually track these moments, we must remember to be honest. Manual tracking can be biased. It's important to be truthful with the tool, and consequently, with ourselves.
“Sometimes I wish a program could tell me if I’m being honest with myself. Or remind me of ways to break out of moods or cognitive knots I find myself stuck in. Digital antibodies, basically.” - James
Where is the technology headed?
The scope of what can be seamlessly tracked through technology is rapidly broadening, moving us from actively logging our experiences to effortlessly having our activities, like steps walked, recorded without a second thought.
In my last survey analysis, I talked about Rewind which offers the ability to search for anything you've seen, said, or heard. Rewind will certainly provide analytics on this.
I can imagine that it can record how many times someone laughed or said “I love you” or heard “I love you”, and then show us a report. You were this loved!
What is the vision?
Since my last post, people in my community have been trying out an even more futuristic and groundbreaking technology.. Apple Vision Pro.
Apple Vision Pro, with its advanced augmented reality capabilities, offers a glimpse into a future where the line between the digital and physical realms becomes increasingly blurred, enabling us to track and engage with our environment and ourselves in ways we've only begun to imagine.
I haven't tried these advanced ski goggles yet, but after talking to people who have and reading extensively, here are some ideas on what Apple Vision Pro might eventually offer:
Currently, it's a cooler way to watch television and play video games. It already tracks your eye movements, hand movements, and voice. But soon.. it might also offer:
Emotional Recognition and Mood Tracking:
What it can track: Vision Pro could use facial recognition and physiological signal analysis to track daily emotional states, moments of joy (like laughter), stress, and overall mood trends.
Application: This could provide insights into the number of times you laughed, experienced stress, or felt genuinely happy, offering a deeper understanding of what influences your emotional well-being. Of course, then it will all the data to create content for you that might impact your mood and energy.
Reading: https://gizmodo.com/apple-reportedly-wants-vision-pro-diagnose-disorders-1850957947
Social Interaction Analysis:
What it can track: By analyzing social interactions, Vision Pro could quantify the number of meaningful conversations, smiles shared with strangers, or moments of connection with friends and family.
Application: This could help track and encourage more genuine social engagements, contributing to a sense of community and personal happiness.
Environmental Awareness:
What it can track: Utilizing geolocation and environmental sensors, Vision Pro could note the amount of time spent in nature, the number of trees or green spaces visited, and exposure to calming natural sounds.
Application: This functionality could remind users to seek out nature for mental health benefits and personal growth, tracking environmental engagement as a component of well-being.
Activity and Enjoyment Recognition:
What it can track: Vision Pro could identify specific activities that bring joy or fulfillment, such as creative hobbies, by recognizing the activity itself or physiological signs of enjoyment.
Application: It would allow users to quantify time spent pursuing passions and hobbies, encouraging a balanced life that nurtures creativity.
Physical Well-being Beyond Steps and Calories:
What it can track: Beyond basic fitness metrics, Vision Pro could monitor signs of physical well-being such as posture, movement fluidity, and even periods of physical discomfort or ease.
Application: This would offer insights into how daily activities impact physical health in nuanced ways, like how many movements felt good or contributed to discomfort, encouraging healthier lifestyle adjustments.
Cognitive and Inspirational Insights:
What it can track: Vision Pro could detect “aha” moments or periods of high cognitive engagement through patterns of behavior or physiological signals that indicate deep concentration or inspiration.
Application: Tracking these moments could help users understand what activities or times of day are most conducive to creativity and learning.
Again, I am talking about the future of where it might evolve.
P.S. - For now, you can book an appointment at the Apple Store to try them on!
The concept of automatically recording every laugh or declaration of love is intriguing, but we need to proceed with caution.
As, we delve deeper into the field of tracking, we must ensure transparency in how our data is used.
Some community members have already expressed concerns about the risk of quantifying inherently subjective experiences, potentially diminishing their richness and beauty. We aim to enhance beauty, not reduce it.
Before we can effectively monitor and analyze emotions using universally accessible apps, extensive research is required. Lisa Feldman Barrett often highlights the misconception among earlier psychologists that emotions can be fully understood through facial expressions alone. Emotions are not scientifically measurable or universally shared across cultures. Feelings and emotions are different things. If those creating the technology do not understand the most recent scientific findings, building tools that track facial expressions could lead to inaccurate analysis.
Equally important is tailoring the tracking to align with individual values and lifestyles, to avoid a one-size-fits-all approach that could mislead rather than enlighten.
As we venture into this new year with increasingly advanced technology, we must remember that the true purpose of tracking extends beyond mere data collection.
Tracking should enhance our awareness, deepen our relationships, and enrich our understanding of the immeasurable aspects of life that truly matter.
Thanks so much for reading our fourth survey analysis. Your input means a lot to me, and I've considered every piece of feedback while writing this post. If you have more thoughts or feedback, I'm all ears—please share them with me here.
Writing this has been quite the eye-opener, making me think carefully about where I put my time and effort. I hope it's made you think a bit about how you track and manage your own life too.
There’s always more to say about tracking, and I’d love to keep the conversation going. Feel free to hit reply and let me know what you think! I also have some ideas about new technology to build. If you're interested, we could discuss that as well.
If you're keeping track of your caring actions, count this moment!
By taking the time to read and engage, you're showing a lot of care. That doesn’t go unnoticed! I appreciate you and send my care right back at you,
Katya