2012 Personal Annual Report (opens in new tab)

a lot of it is just simple python scripts to download/convert data to csv files, and do some simple post processing.

for the computer activity i took a snapshot every 30seconds of what program was active, and how long my laptop was active.

For collecting application usage data, I used to use an application called Timesnapper ( http://www.timesnapper.com/ ), which takes a screenshot every x seconds and keeps track of the application title / etc, with the added benefit of allowing you to automatically categorize usage "Work", "Play", etc.

Found it really useful to be able to literally play back my day in 10 second intervals. Unfortunately it's windows-only. One of the very few apps I truly miss since moving to Linux almost 2 years ago.

-- I have absolutely no affiliation with TimeSnapper besides being a happily paying customer a couple years ago.

Checkout LifeSlice by Stan James (https://github.com/wanderingstan/Lifeslice) for OSX - the script takes a screenshot, picture of the user and tracks web browser usage. The sample report leaves much to be desired from a design aesthetic but the data is available.

Have you tried RescueTime? https://www.rescuetime.com/

Manic Time. Just google it

I disagree. I think the interesting part is in the blanks in most graphics. He does a very good job at keeping his computer use to work hours, so I think it's safe to assume he has a life outside work. He sends a good amount of texts which means he has people in his life. He drinks coffee mostly in the morning which is good.

I disagree. No matter how interesting and meaningful our lives are much of our day is spent doing these relatively normal, mundane tasks. I don't think that necessarily has to be depressing. It's actually a really interesting way to analyze a life and I'd really be interested in producing my own annual report.

I would think that the fun and interesting events of his year are the ones that don't need this kind of reporting to remember or get insight into. Everyone has mundane parts of their life, and with this report, now even those parts are kind of interesting.

The bitly office moved, so my morning coffee habit had to switch slightly. It's for the better thought; I <3 Bourbon Coffee.

Here's a quick script I whipped up. No warranty, etc. Also, you need OpenCV installed.

https://gist.github.com/4476997

OpenCV: http://opencv.willowgarage.com/wiki/

I snap a picture every time I make a git commit. It's an easy way to ensure that I'm sitting at the computer.

https://github.com/zacstewart/dotfiles/blob/master/git/.git_...

I used isightcapture (The original source is offline, but i think this is the same thing http://distfiles.macports.org/isightcapture/)

https://gist.github.com/4477040 is the cron script I use on a 10 min interval.

There might be other ways to do this now days, but i've used this successfully for a few years.

I was most surprised by the sheer amount of time I spend on the computer; clearly I need to unplug more often. (Though you can tell I did drop off the grid for a few weeks when my daughter was born, and again for a vacation in August. At least that's a start).

best-idea-ever

Is there an official way of measuring beard length?

http://statuschart.com would be the ideal presentation medium for this. I'm a fan.

I really love the data you linked to, that's quite the commitment to keeping track of data, and it's very interesting to read his anecdotes on it.

I'd love to do some of this information tracking, but nearly all of the data that I've seen comes from DIY setups, with custom tracking systems. Does anyone know of any open source projects that do this, or are willing to post their own solutions?

I asked the same question and he replied...

http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=5021896

I think that "to get better at data processing, javascript, and UI Interaction/charting" is a perfectly valid answer. But in general, I tend to be wary of visualizations that don't ultimately inform some decision making process.

I can't speak for the author but I keep a sleep journal. I write down the time I go to bed, the time I wake up, and any dreams I can remember.

I've not heard of whatpulse, but looks cool. I rolled my own data collection for keyboard stats last year.

I've highlighted some last.fm data in a few of my previous annual reports, but it didn't make it this year (I Wasn't quite into new music enough recently for it to be interesting to me).

lies, damned lies, and statistics. Unfortunately i didn't have time data for my other trips to Starbucks so that dataset is partial (I mostly visit Starbucks on the weekend/holidays).

The transition from Carte Blanche to Burbon Coffee in the middle of the year is when @bitly's office moved, and my coffee habit followed.

thanks dude!

yup. I actually managed to travel without my laptop for a few weeks!

doh. That's probably due to loading a full years worth of images as png's (I've added support for webp images when browsing w/ Chrome but that isn't going to help the iPad). Sorry i didn't get to do more than minimal iOS testing.

glad you enjoyed the report.