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Tracking random things has become one of my favorite hobbies. From train rides to board games, there's something oddly satisfying about turning life's everyday moments into stats and milestones.
Train Rides
I use viaduct to keep track (pun not intended) of my train rides. Since I work on a train, it’s fun to see how many kilometers I've traveled and where I've been. I used to use trainlog, but ever since I discovered viaduct, I stopped using it. Viaduct has built-in timetables, while trainlog requires you to manually draw the route.
I just recently started using viaduct, but this year, I’ve already traveled 5,000 km over about 3 days, with 7 hours of delays (that delay was from 1 ride) :]
Reading
I use StoryGraph to track my reading and books. Weirdly enough, tracking my reading motivates me to read more. It’s also super handy for keeping track of every book I still want to read. Setting a reading goal has kept me even more motivated!
Gaming
I use Backloggd to keep track of my gaming backlog and to see which games I’ve completed. This has been a game-changer (pun not intended again) because I used to barely finish games. Now I try to complete most of the ones I start.
It’s also great for tracking all the games I want to play, which is honestly way too many.
Budgeting
For tracking my money and budget, I use YNAB. I used spreadsheets for a couple of years, but YNAB is so much more organized and simple.
Music
- RateYourMusic helps me keep track of every album I’ve listened to and discover new music. It’s been a while since I actively used it, but this site is where my love of music really started.
- Last.fm is my go-to for tracking my music listening habits in general. I absolutely love watching my music stats change over the years.
Board Games
I use BoardGameGeek to track my board games and gaming sessions. This site is a perfect mix of classic and modern, it doesn’t feel overly “web 2.0ish,” and I love that.
Mood Tracking
I used to use Pixels to track my mood, but I recently stopped after two years. After a while, I was filling it in every day just to keep the streak going.
If I want to reflect on my mood now, I write in a journal. A journal gives me more space to write and really reflect, rather than squeezing it all into a small text field. I might start using a mood tracker again someday, but it would need to be more advanced than Pixels.
That’s about every tool I have discovered to track things, there are probably a lot more that I have yet to discover. Tracking these “unnecessary” things has become a way for me to stay motivated, reflect on my hobbies, and discover new interests.
What about you? Do you track anything? I’d love to hear about it and maybe even try a new tool! :]
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{AUTOPLAY} Lupi
Oh my god I love stuff like this!!!
Storygraph is really interesting, sounds like a slightly better option than goodreads, but as I have no books to actually track, I don't bother.
I wanted to track games too, but I tried both Glitchwave and Backloggd, and I just don't like them. So I don't bother.
Big props for the music section!!! I have a RYM account and I love using it so much, it's like an online backup of my opinions on music! :D
It's also a really helpful recommendation tool, I like looking at what other people listen to and trying it out just for the sake of it. People have wild takes on there, but it's honestly really fun to see perspective on things. I also heard of Album of the Year, but RYM is just much nicer to use.
If you want last.fm alternatives, there's libre.fm and ListenBrainz! I actually use LB as a backup of my spotify extended listening history, so my stats are quite nice. Last.fm only allows this on their pro subscription IIRC, but LB is actually amazing for doing it for free. They recently added automatically adding your last.fm listens to it without needing another tool, you can find it in settings right now!
Libre.fm is okay. I don't like it, but it's a good backup.
If you still want to look into mood tracking, imood and status cafe might be to look into! they have widgets you can put onto your spacehey profile as images and they update automatically, they can go on your site too! imood is an often picked choice as it's just a face and a mood name, but status.cafe focuses on words, so some people prefer that!
Not really a tracking tool, but I use Obsidian for writing myself and and it has some cool features like plugins! Closest to what you're describing, it has an option to show a little dot graph that shows how you connect various pages to each other! Though I don't use that, I mainly use it as a writing organization tool. There was another tool that some people use, but I need to get my hands on it and as far as I know, I don't know where to find it. :P
By the way, RYM already has a beta project for tracking games called Glitchwave and also has an option for Movies to rate :D
No TV though. I assume that's why people use Letterbox'd?
Wow, I love how extensive your RYM profile is! I wish I had the patience to put my love for music in words like you do. :P
I will try out ListenBrainz! I was missing the stats on Last.fm so this is a great alternative.
imood looks like what I was looking for in a mood tracker, it's quite simple but I like that you have soooo many moods to choose from and the style fits spacehey very well!
I completely forgot about Obsidian, I was writing everything in one big google doc but it was getting quite messy so thanks for reminding me. Do you know what the other tool was?
I have tried Glitchwave but liked Backloggd more because Glitchwave is quite focused on rating while Backloggd is more focused on cataloging which games you've played, completed, gave up on, etc
As far as I know Letterboxd is also only for Movies
by wintrmoon; ; Report
I feel really strongly about music. A little too much.... :P
Tags are just so fun to work with because being able to add context like that is amazing. Many use it to list genres, but I like to use it to explain my shit takes (and why I care about something in the first place) and it just seems nice to use. RYM doesn't really focus on cataloging like Discogs does, but it honestly works, I like it.
I ended up remembering the other tool - Scrivener! I wanted to open my options because Obsidian wants you to pay to sync across devices and I don't have the patience or time for that. Though Scrivener is paid too and ended up not syncing either, I'm giving it a try because I took a look and it looks really similar to what I already use, with a bit more :D
Plus no losses if I don't like it... ;)
P.S. If you're using spotify, you have to follow an extra step (<- only read until the first two screenshots, this is all i could find sorry!!) to get your listening history and a second step to get it in there. i use this script. hope you know python!
anything on last.fm will probably be imported as soon as you connect. spotify only imports like the last 10 songs or something
by {AUTOPLAY} Lupi; ; Report
josie
the only thing i actively track is my medicine because i need the reminders.. >< i also use goodreads, letterboxd and last.fm, but often times i’m too lazy to track things in real-time D: but this post defff inspired me to start tracking again!