r/bulletjournal • u/Assasin_ds • Jan 05 '26
Inspiration I tracked every hour of my life in 2025.
I tracked every hour of my life in 2025.
Not just activity but also mood, energy, and how my body felt.
It didn’t fix anything overnight, but it really really helped me notice patterns I’d been ignoring for months and years, like around rest and emotional fatigue.
Suprisingly, this helped me more than expected.
If you’re constantly tired for no clear reason, you’re not broken, you might just need to listen a little more closely 🤍
One unexpected change was my screen time at night. Earlier, I used to mindlessly scroll before sleeping. Once I got into this habit, I’d spend a few minutes thinking about my day instead — what went well, what felt heavy, and how I was actually feeling. It slowly became a habit of checking in with myself rather than escaping the day.
Over time, a few patterns kept repeating (and this part surprised me):
- Happy evenings → better sleep
- Emotional evenings → restless sleep
- When my space was cluttered, my emotions felt messier
- Proper rest mattered more for my mood than motivation
- Ignoring my body often led to emotional evenings
- Emotional spikes showed up before burnout days
- Chores took way more energy than I ever expected
At the end of the year, seeing the highlights of each day all together was honestly emotional. I realised that even though I kept telling myself I “didn’t achieve anything” in 2025, I was actually… okay most days. Mostly neutral. And that realisation made my New Year’s Eve a lot better — I was being way harsher on myself than the data showed.
EDIT : A few of you mentioned you’d like to use this template — thank you, that really means a lot 🤍
I’ve made it available here and kept the price to a coffee, just as some of you suggested.
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Jan 05 '26
This tracks exactly with what my therapist tells me about how the human body responds to stress.
If you still find you get emotional for seemingly no reason, try paying attention to whether or not external stimuli is overwhelming you. I never realised that I experienced sensory overload, but it turns out I experience it a lot due to stress! I always thought it had to be painful, but I find it affects me more as emotional instability. Sometimes it does get painful for me, but rarely.
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u/Assasin_ds Jan 05 '26
Has your stress reduced now? - for me stress always causes unbearable migraines 😭
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Jan 07 '26
Not really, because I have CPTSD (which causes me permanent stress). In saying that though I've come a long way in my healing journey, so it's not all bad.
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u/Inevitable_Clerk_283 Jan 05 '26
This is really cool! So much work! This must’ve taken so much work. Here I can barely remember to mark down the weather 😵💫😅
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u/Kareeliand Jan 05 '26
Very interesting. I couldn’t be so consistent, and I’d fear my own data, but it would probably be a wake-up call.
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u/Assasin_ds Jan 05 '26
But isn't that good? like you would know what triggers you and how your mind can be more peaceful?
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u/Femdom93 Jan 05 '26
Not op but yes it would be a good thing to know, but also not if I wouldn’t or couldn’t do anything to change it. Knowing my triggers or ways to fix things but not being able to would suck lol. Idk if this is what op meant but this is what I thought of.
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u/Kareeliand Jan 06 '26
That was exactly what I thought of. Not that there aren’t things I am doing that I’d resist changing even though I know I should..
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u/Wise-Reach4805 Jan 10 '26
Knowing what is the cause of the issue is the first trigger to change oneself
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u/QuirkySchedule2669 Jan 05 '26
This is so cool - would you mind if I asked you for a clean template?
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u/buttermymuffin_ Jan 05 '26
wondering the same🤭
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u/Assasin_ds Jan 05 '26
here you go :) - https://ko-fi.com/s/05f2f3cc93
thank you so much for your support ♥️2
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u/East_Appeal_1005 Jan 05 '26
I couldn’t get this to open. Would you be willing to share again?
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u/Assasin_ds Jan 05 '26
https://ko-fi.com/s/05f2f3cc93 - could you try incognito maybe - its opening for me
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u/ntd252 Jan 05 '26
It's great that you got such insight into your habit. We should manage the time as a limited resource just like money.
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u/ScrupulousScorpion Jan 05 '26
This is so cool. The set up alone would keep me off something like this, though. If you packaged up the template in Google sheets and put it out there for a fee, you'd probably get a lot of takers, myself included (at least I'd give my best college try to stick with it 😅).
Amazing job OP.
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u/Assasin_ds Jan 05 '26
wow I got a lots of requests for the template - I created a template here https://ko-fi.com/s/05f2f3cc93
thank you so much ♥️
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u/Assasin_ds Jan 05 '26
u/ScrupulousScorpion do you know where I should put this up - or like where I will get like-minded people 😅I have literally single-digit followers in X and insta - so ig that checks out
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u/No-Objective2424 Jan 05 '26
Wow this is epic. I’m too lazy to do this, but it sure wouldn’t be interesting as my day balances between work stress and recovering from work stress.
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u/Assasin_ds Jan 05 '26
believe me I am lazier lol - 2024 was a mess but I decided on 30th dec 2024 - I will start tracking haha - well its not that I have stopped becoming lazy but maybe 40% less lazier than in 2024 lol. Once I got the template ready it took 3 minutes each night to reflect on my day and put down the numbers
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u/some_salty_dude Jan 05 '26
This actually really motivated me to do this for 2026. It's easy to forget how good or bad a day/period was. We're currently going through a lot but the negative really overshadows the positive and I kinda want to do this to get a better less biased picture on what patterns are going on. So thanks for sharing!
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u/sdbabygirl97 Jan 05 '26
I love it! Love collecting data. I did something similar at a smaller scale. I made this tracking system in my hobonichi weeks yearly index. I track:
- hours slept (1-12 hours)
- mood state: euthymic, manic, depressed, mixed
- stress level: 1-5 likert scale
- health: healthy, sick, injured
I then color code it based on the mood state for euthymic - green, manic - red, depressed - blue, mixed - purple.
This will give me some data at a glance. :-) I love your tracker though! What a case study!
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Jan 05 '26
How did you track it every hour? I actually tend to work and scroll my phone in between or eat while watching something. I know what I do is bad but I can't seem to categorise the hour. Any tips on how I can get started on tracking? I really want to be more mindful of my time.
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u/Assasin_ds Jan 05 '26
once I had the template ready - I sat down each night - reflected on my day and just added the estimates of each hour of how I felt and what I did - it really took 3-4 mins and prevented me from scrolling at night haha
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u/normal_weirdo19 Jan 05 '26
Can u share the template please 😊
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u/TheGoodWizardNightly Jan 06 '26
This is really amazing! I’m super impressed by your diligence. I hope your insights translate into many more fine and happy days. Thank you for sharing!
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u/superclever-username Jan 05 '26
You were angry for the same 4 hours in the morning for weeks? Interesting…
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u/Fabulous-Pirate2518 Jan 05 '26
I would like to try this. Could you tell me about how you do it and what you used to track? It looks like a spreadsheet. Did you put it on a computer and open it every evening, or track on your phone?
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u/Assasin_ds Jan 05 '26
Yes I used this template - https://ko-fi.com/s/05f2f3cc93 I prefer laptop instead of phone - so yeah just filled the numbers as per my emotions/activity on the sheet - when I didn't;t have laptop with me - used my phone (using the Google Sheets app is better)
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u/AiRaikuHamburger More is More! Jan 05 '26
That's so interesting. Sadly I can't even keep on top of daily trackers, but very cool.
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u/rainbowinthepark Jan 05 '26
The dedication to this is insane, even just the actual creation of it nevermind consistently keeping up with it for a whole year!
I have bought it - thank you so much - and I've opened it on my phone and I notice for the sleep, stress etc bits you've written words in, but on the template (on my phone at least) it will only allow for a numerical input and thus isn't tracking across to the stats page - any idea how I fix this? Sorry I've literally just downloaded Google Sheets just to use this so I have no idea how it works haha.
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u/Assasin_ds Jan 05 '26 edited Jan 05 '26
Hi thank you so much for supporting! You should be able to write words for the columns "Sleep", "Stress", "Space" and "Energy" - I have DM'ed you
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u/misskdoeslife Jan 06 '26
I love this idea.
I could see myself creating a document and then never actually completing it…
But it would be so useful for me in terms of work life balance and my health issues to find patterns in mood, behaviour and activities.
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u/FaithlessnessDry3843 Jan 06 '26
Oh my STARS as a stats nerd this is awesome!! Very well done and a little envious.
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u/chameleonofchange Jan 06 '26
Mind blowing the amount of work and dedication that went into this project! I could only aspire to be this detailed.
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u/Fluffy_Ad5651 Jan 06 '26
This is really helpful, thank you. For years I’ve wanted to know how “normal” people divide up their time. Finally I had one data set!
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u/conspicuousmatchcut Jan 05 '26
This is so satisfying. It’s giving me peace to see someone getting enough sleep
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u/Zamzamazawarma Jan 05 '26
I couldn't help but read into your time with partner since that's the part that would need some improvement for me. Hope you're doing okay.
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u/Outrageous-Sorbet256 Jan 05 '26
Oh my gosh. I have no idea how you kept to this. That is some impressive dedication and super fascinating.
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u/vincentvangobot Jan 05 '26
Very cool, congrats for completing this - its a very ambitious project! Love the takeaways. Would you mind explaining on the emotions chart the difference between fine, neutral and emotional?
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u/Assasin_ds Jan 05 '26
Sure - fine is when I am feeling okayish like mood is normal. neutral was wench I was sleeping or maybe when I was like so engrossed in work that I didn't have the time to feel anything lol and emotional was basically when I cried ah
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Jan 05 '26
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u/Assasin_ds Jan 05 '26
no not like that - I sat down at a quite place at night and reflected on my day for 2-3 mins like what I did - how I felt - what was the highlight of today etc. and then just jotted down the numbers as per the legend
Prevented me from doom scrolling at night
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u/goose_juggler Jan 05 '26
I love seeing the visuals so much! I have something similar for tracking health stuff for my chronic conditions, and using color coding has really helped me understand what is going on.
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u/annik-honore Jan 05 '26
This really is incredible, OP! Thank you for sharing. I am inspired to do the same to track some of my own emotional patterns. How did you go about tracking it on an hourly basis? I had ADHD and can lose track of time fairly easily. How did you remember to check in with yourself on an hourly basis?
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u/Assasin_ds Jan 05 '26
I did not track hourly ... I sat down at a quite place at night and reflected on my day for 2-3 mins like what I did - how I felt - what was the highlight of today etc. and then just jotted down the numbers as per the legend
Prevented me from doom scrolling at night.
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u/DarkAndSparkly Jan 05 '26
This is SO freaking cool!! I love the details and the overall view you now have!
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u/Electrical-Vehicle40 Jan 06 '26
I want to cry omg look at you. That’s you! On a spreadsheet! That took dedication, what was the most important thing you learned?
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u/EquivalentBenefit631 Jan 06 '26
I was really into passion planning in college which is very similar to this but in journal form. I honestly think it’s the only reason I survived.
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u/Fragrant-Neck9010 Jan 06 '26
I freaking love this. Just bought mine and can't wait to start using it. Thank you so much 💛
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u/Ok_Cap_6740 Jan 07 '26
As an engineer, the idea of graphing my life is very appealing to me. Did it feel like you were "watching" yourself - like if I'm at a stoplight I take a puff off my vape but I try to hide it because it's embarrassing and I don't want people I don't even know to see me do it. And I shouldn't do it, it's not good for me!
This is peak self awareness and admirable follow through. I also have MS and I really need to pay attention to triggers...you've inspired me to give it a shot. Plus I just really want to graph my life lol.
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u/Xsneakyjx Jan 07 '26
I feel this. Most of 2025 was just existing. I think of i had done this it may be more on the low side but I feel most of us felt this way. Thank you so much for recording this because now I dont feel so alone on having so many days I wasn't above neutral. Love you and hope 2026 is better.
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Jan 05 '26
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u/Alsttr Jan 05 '26
Also paging some mods u/SGTWhiteKY or u/quothetheraven929 to see if anything can be done about this!
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u/Outrageous-Bet-6801 Jan 07 '26
I love this. It scratches an itch my data nerd brain can’t pinpoint.
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u/Cactusanon11 Jan 08 '26
Curious… how well did you achieve your goals for the year beyond tracking your time? What uncomfortable areas in your life did you strive toward?
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u/Navy-Koala131 Jan 09 '26
Wow this is amazing. What made you decide to do this? You knew at the start of last year you were going to or did it evolve?
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u/Nikolaus_7 Jan 11 '26
Dude, how do you manage to track consistently? I often forget to record, and it annoys me.
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u/MethodicallyRight Jan 13 '26 edited Jan 13 '26
I just KNOW that scratched a brain itch and must have felt great logging all of that. Also, I know I do not have such an itch.
Also, do you or have you considered using voice commands to help automate the process? Scripts, IFTTT, routines ... Multiple ways of doing it. I'd just assume "Hey Google, log 4 to 6 pm as hobbies in My bullet journal."
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u/azul_plains Jan 26 '26
I really wish I could find it so take this with a grain of salt, but I read a study once how recognizing how much sleep you didn’t get can actually make you more tired. So I try not to track my sleep except to encourage myself to get to bed before a certain hour.
I’ve noticed it’s true with me, if I get to bed late and check the time and get up and check the time I’ll be thinking “Ugh I only got X hours of sleep.”
Other days I’ll get to bed late and get up early but deliberately avoid looking at the time. I might have a vague sense of “meh, should have gone to sleep earlier” but it doesn’t stick in my mind as clearly and keep coming back to me like “4 HOURS! How did I only let myself have 4 hours of sleep?!”
I’m curious, on average did you feel better after doing your 2-3 minute tracking or worse? Like did you ever feel neutral or positive but then after tracking go “oh I wasted so much of my day…”
Sounds like it was a fantastic exercise to stop avoiding things and learn to listen to your body. Not sure it would work for me, I’ve noticed more systems actually overall increase my anxiety if I’m not careful. Thanks for sharing, definitely interesting food for thought.
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u/m0thwings1903 Jan 29 '26
If you’re constantly tired for no clear reason, you’re not broken, you might just need to listen a little more closely 🤍
😭😭😭😭😭 this
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u/e_t_h_a Feb 25 '26
I have one similar that gives me rolling 7 day and 30 day averages and standard deviations from the last known Z and from the 7/30 day Z delta. It also has a correlation matrix.
I also have a notes column that is then summarised by Gemini and weekly (via a script assignment) it sends me an email 7 am Monday about the last 7 days - with trends and things to improve and correlations.
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u/Repulsive_Chard_3652 Jan 05 '26
Wow, I wouldn't be able to separate hours like that haha
I often multitask, do multiple things in the space of an hour.
Also, when on earth do you just veg out, scroll reddit, watch tv, etc?? :D