Spreadsheets for all the things!

[azurelunatic]

Further to last night's inquiry about mood tracking services, I'm putting together a Google Docs form. Basically it's going to dump things in a spreadsheet and then I can worry about what to do *with* the data later. So far I've got 0-10 scales going on, with some rather more suited to me factors of measurement.

I am also taking the opportunity to, like Hyperbole and a Half, set the definitions of the extreme ends more appropriately.

Anger: None - Thermonuclear
Happiness: None - Best. Ever.
Apprehensiveness: None- DOOM!
Irrationality: None - Jesus Christ is a Lion Get in the CAR
Irritability: None - *explodes*
Focus: None - Holy Timewarp, Scully!
Pain (physical): None - Motherfucking *ow*
Pain (emotional): None - Bring on the Strikethrough*
Gloom: None - Fucking lousy.
Calm: None - Cucumbers are less cool than Dave Strider.
Numbness: None - I have lost the capacity to feel any more of the things.
Paranoia: None - Everyone and everything is out to get me.


I know I'm missing some; any suggestions? (I of course reserve the right to not actually include them, since this is supposed to be useful for me, but I know I've got to be missing things that would be useful.) I may need more good (or at least good-in-moderation) items. (Focus is one of those tricky ones: "None" is bad; missing-time levels is also perhaps not the best thing for actual functionality.)


* Okay, so that one may require a bit of context. Strikethrough was one of the objectively worst times to both be an LJ volunteer and a member of fandom. During that general time, I had events in my personal life blow up such that the DDoS following Strikethrough, and all the attendant woes, were actually a pleasant distraction from my inner state. Given the contempt in which the CEO steering the ship through Strikethrough is still held, this is not a small amount of pain. There are two times in the past ~5 years I haven't been safe to be alone, and that night was one of them.

Comments

[mfb]

Dumping a spreadsheet is actually a snazzy idea. I was intrigued by your last post on mood tracking -- it's something I've needed to do for a while, but the barrier-to-entry is fundamentally wonky -- and this approach runs with my personal aversion to web apps. I think I'll try it!

I don't have input on the design but I do have a question: How often to you plan to enter data points?

[azurelunatic]

The recommendations I've seen in general recommend daily. I am trying for daily, and at the same general time in my personal day (just after waking gets the clean slate; just before bed gets all the day's aaaaiiii). Time (and especially relative personal time) is something I want to capture, because I may get a better picture by graphing only similar relative time snapshots together.

[kateshort]

Jesus Christ IS a lion...?

Yeah, that works for irrationality. Unless you've been rereading Narnia recently. ;D

[inoru_no_hoshi]

That was my thought also! :D

[pineapplechild]

Ahahaha, I totally did that yesterday too. I've got to figure out a more consistant time thing, tho. I like the idea of doing it right before bed and right after getting up. More data points, and it can show how the day wears on me too, I suppose.

I included a scale on how my energy reserves feel, and also on how well I'm sleeping. I also split up a couple of the ones-- like focus and how happy I feel-- into a shitty-even keel and an even-keel to manic set of scales, to use happiness for an example, because it's a problem if I'm manic and it's a problem if I feel super shitty.

[jd]

Procedural question - if Focus is at "none", wouldn't it be difficult to fill out the spreadsheet? Or is it sometimes retroactive filling-in?

[azurelunatic]

Indeed it would.