The Somewhat Data-Driven Life

Last night I slept for 6 hours 51 minutes, 7 minutes under my monthly average. Decent quality for most of it, looking at the graph. Tap another app: today I’ve consumed 16 oz of coffee (4 calories, since I drink my coffee black.) Better log another cup – those seven minutes are taking a toll.

If I felt like it, I could post graphs of these patterns to Facebook, to bore my Friends with the minutia of my statistical existence.

Or I could think about why I monitor these things in the first place.

There’s a terrific New York Times article from about a year ago called “The Data-Driven Life” on this self-measurement phenomenon. At the time, I thought the tracker lifestyle was pretty bizarre. A few apps later and a quote from the story rings true:

I got nothing from my tracking system until I used it as a source of critical perspective, not on my performance but on my assumptions about what was important to track.

I’m not a true believer yet – and I doubt I’ll ever be a person who creates a statistical analysis of how daily butter intake changes my arithmetic speed. But I started tracking to wean myself off of caffeine, and it’s worked. Unchecked, I consume it like a fiend. Logging every diet soda keeps me from overindulging. Then I wanted to see if my sleep improved on days I drank less caffeine (it does!). The daily graphs have taught me how I sleep and how often I sleep — and how to improve them.

Now if I can only remember to track my hours at work…