The “Quanitified Self” movement has been relatively popular over the last couple of years. Since college I’ve dipped my toes in the water with a few different things, but recently I’ve decided to dive in head first. There are a ton of different apps that I’m using, so I’m going to document them here for myself and others that want to do similarly!

What I’ve Been Using For Years

Habitica

I’ve been using Habitica for years at this point. It’s the best to-do list/habit tracker I’ve found. I use it pretty exclusively for the “dailies” and the “to-do” sections. The ability to set up different timings for the dailies is perfect. Reconcile the budget once a week, double check my fantasy football roster on Thursday morning and Saturday, etc. Combine that with the gamification aspect of it and it’s my favorite app I use.

Trakt

I’ve been watching NCIS since I was a kid. But I don’t usually watch it when it’s live, so it may be a year or two before I catch up on what I missed. At one point I would actually physically write down what seasons I had finished watching, so I knew right where to pick up when I restarted it. Then I found Trakt! It let me keep a digital list of every movie and TV show that I had watched, when I watched it, etc.

Goodreads

I don’t read nearly as much as I should. When I do I make sure to track it on Goodreads. When I finish a book I give it a rank and a little review.

Google Maps

I’ve been tracking my location with Google for almost a decade now. Being able to see a map of all the locations I’ve ever been to is incredibly interesting. It’s also nice to be able to go back and remember where I was last weekend or last month. Combine that with location sharing with my wife: “how long till you get here?”.

You Need A Budget(YNAB)

I’ve been using YNAB since it was something that you installed on Steam. It’s an incredibly powerful budgeting software with four very specific rules in mind. YNAB has shaped my entire financial outlook and allowed my Wife and I to feel 100% in control of our financial situation. Automatic linking to our bank accounts, intuitive methodology, and a great user experience are what make YNAB an incredible piece of budgeting software. I can track our Net Worth, where we’re spending our money, how much a specific trip cost, etc. It’s the perfect solution for the money side of things of a Quantified Self.

Personal Capital

The only thing that YNAB doesn’t do is give me a good overview of the diversification of my investment portfolio. Am I too heavy in bonds? US small cap stocks? International cheese funds? Personal Capital will tell me how I need to adjust my portfolio to get to my ideal setting.

These are all the things I’ve been using for years. Tons of interesting data and things to go back and check up on. But like I said in the beginning, I’ve dug even deeper recently. So in my next post I’ll go into the things I’ve found recently!