n writing about personal analytics and data collection, one question I get more frequently than most is: what do you get out of it? Today I thought I’d share 4 insights I’ve gained into my own behavior from scrutinizing the data that I collect. For those who haven’t been following along, I am fascinated by…
while back, I posted about how I use a simple text file to track my reading list, and then use that as my authoritative source for tracking my reading. I showed, for instance, how I use a short code in WordPress to neatly format that text file so that I never have to update WordPress…
very now and then, I need a change of scenery, and that includes what I see on my computer desktop. I spent this afternoon giving my desktop a long-overdue makeover. And thanks to the fact that my to-do list is based on text files, and that I use text files for many other things, it…
‘ve discussed how I use TextExpander to speed up commonly typed things (like my email address). Or things that I can’t always remember (like my home phone number). Recently, I’ve been taking a closer look at what I type over and over again, and have done some automation that allows me to automatically expand another…
ne of the more frequently asked questions I get, and one that inevitably surprises me, is the question, “How do you do all that you do?” It surprises me because I am always feeling like I could have packed a little more into my day if I really tried. I suppose it also surprises me…
hese last few weeks have been just crazy for me. In addition to an usually busy period at the day job, with projects coming to rollout while others are just starting up, and others still need extra help, I’ve also been preparing for the seminar I gave earlier this week, reading and writing for my…
try to keep things simple. Back in 1996 when I started keeping a list of the books I read, I did so using a plain text file. I was very much into Linux, which, at the time, was to computer geeks what model trains were to train enthusiasts. So at the beginning of January 1996,…
esterday, I happened to notice that on my Audible app, I passed 30 days of listening to audiobooks in 2013. That means I spent 1/12th of my year listening to books. I thought that was a pretty amazing statistic, and I wondered how much of my day I could piece together based on data that I…
little something I have been playing around with in the tiny scraps of free time I have is some Google App Scripts that allow me to automate the presentation of some of my writing metrics. Or, in simpler terms: automatically create charts based on my writing data. This is still a work-in-progress, but here is…
ast week, I mentioned how I was testing out modifications to my Google Writing Tracker scripts that allows me to track the time I spend writing, in addition to how much I write. Having collected 8 days worth of data, I now present the initial results of these scripts. There are a few limits to…
am in the process of beta-testing some new features that I have added to my Google Writing Tracker scripts that are currently available on GitHub. The most significant of these features is a means by which to track the time you spend writing, in addition to how much you write. My scripts currently track how…
Writing and blogging I wrote a total of just over 31,000 words of fiction in September, down from a rather remarkable 46,000 words in August. I think the big difference was that in August, I was pushing to finish the first draft of my novel while in September I actually finished it. I averaged just…