#SWDchallenge: quantified self

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Happy New Year! For many, this is the traditional opportunity to both think back on the preceding twelve months and to look forward to the year ahead. This period of reflection often inspires us to formalise a few optimistic aspirations, in the form of  New Year’s resolutions.

Many of the resolutions I’ve set for myself over the years have fallen by the wayside before the festive decorations have been dismantled and stored away in the attic. In retrospect, it’s easy to see why they were unsuccessful: my good intentions were most often thwarted by either a lack of sufficient motivation (e.g., I was not yet ready to quit smoking when I was still in my invincible-feeling early 20s), or a lack of sufficient data (for tracking, assessing, and rewarding my progress).  

I’m a firm believer of the saying, “That which is measured improves.” In my experience the more I track and hold myself to account for the goals I’ve set, the more successful I am in achieving them. This is where the quantified self (self-knowledge through numbers), or QS, movement can come to our aid. We now have access to a huge array of tools, resources and technologies which allow us to track all manner of activities.

One common application of QS is the use of devices to track running stats or other fitness-related activities, helping us measure our progress towards a physical goal.  However, QS can also be used to learn something about ourselves that perhaps we hadn’t considered before, for example;

  • Our social media activity or exploring the data social media platforms have on us

  • Music listening habits

  • The consumption of television via streaming services

  • Particular travel or vacation habits

  • The ability to accurately track income and expenditure

The challenge

To usher in the new year we are asking you to provide a visualisation using your tool of choice (or even hand-drawn) that quantifies yourself in some way. Share your submission in the community by January 31st at 5PM ET. If there is any specific feedback or input that you would find helpful, include that detail in your commentary.

We are excited to see your quantified self creations and wish you a very happy, healthy and prosperous 2023.

Related Resources

  • For inspiration, check out one of the first, and most well-known, ongoing quantified self initiatives: the IIB Award-winning Feltron Annual Report, which designer Nicholas Felton produced each year from 2005 through 2014. 

  • A number of resources (mostly free) that allow you to quantify yourself

  • Many sketched quantified self submissions were shared in the March 2021 #SWDChallenge - draw your data