Getting Organized through Self-Tracking

I am not one to invest much time in self-tracking apps, especially since I feel like I would ignore them anyways, so I do not have much experience with tracking myself. I think the only app that I use that I did not even consider self-tracking until taking this course was my Calendar app on my iPhone. It came with my phone so I did not purposefully look into the app to track myself. It was there, and I used it to add events that I needed to attend, as a way to self-organize.

In order to use the app effectively, I would say that you would have to put in all appointments and events that you have to attend into the app. I put in all my class times which I will admit has helped since this semester has been busy. I also put in appointments with my advisors, job interviews, etc. Not only can you add in the timing of these appointments, but also the locations which are really helpful, especially during the first week of classes if you keep forgetting the room numbers of your classes. I do not input very regularly on the app. It mostly depends on what new appointments I have, but even then sometimes I forget to put it into the Calendar itself, and instead I just write it down in my notebook.

I would say that putting the exact timings of when these appointments occur and on what days they occur can really make the app work efficiently.  If the event repeats, like a class or group meeting, then the Calendar will let you know 30 minutes ahead of time when that meeting is. It is helpful for organizing your life if you add all the data it allows you to add in order to stay on task.

I don’t know how the app can improve upon itself in the future. I think so far it serves its main purpose which is to keep me organized, or at least tell me what event is going on when and where, if I share that information. I don’t really see it changing the future, other than reminding people to be punctual.

Now that I think about it, I am grateful to have an app that allows me to budget my time. I never really thought about using an app to track myself, but I suppose I have been using one without even realizing. This app, unlike other self-tracking apps, does not post to social media – or I haven’t figured out how to yet since I’m sometimes technologically challenged. I really don’t mind because I don’t need people to be aware of my every move. Other people might want to share their self-tracking data with other people. While I think that’s fine, I think there should be a limit as to how much personal information a person shares online.