Hello - I am often busy and focused during the day, meaning even if I get an alarm to remind myself to log something (e.g. mood) I will ignore it. I want to continue doing what I’m actually doing and not stop, open the app, scroll to where I need to put in an entry and enter it with 10+ taps.
What might work better is if the measurement would come up using an ‘Actionable Notification’:
Are there any apps that are nice and clean as well as allowing custom data types and schedules that use this?
We are working on precisely this, yet do not have the functionality for actionable notifications just yet. It’s planned to come in early 2023, immediately after we finish custom notification scheduling for Events (in your example, an Event would be a symptom to track).
If you’re interested in following our progress, please check out the Best Life Health Diary built by nonprofit LLIF.org
In my experience notification systems work only for short periods of time. The key problem is friction of measurement. In my life, only very easy measurements can be made over long time periods; where measurement takes more than a few seconds no amount of notification will help, and in fact I tune out notifications and eventually turn them off. Focus on understanding what you want to track, choosing a phenomenon and a protocol that combines relevance with ease of measurement. Where tracking takes more than a few seconds, then tracking should be incorporated into a regular routine, such as before/after bed, or at mealtimes, or arriving home, etc.
I have yet to see any notification system that functions well over weeks/months.
Well said. Have you tried a voice interface? I haven’t yet, but my hypothesis is that it would let me capture things I’m currently not, without prohibitive additional effort.
That’s probably good advice - I’m guessing I will ignore even easy notifications eventually too… It’s tricky finding a way to track things throughout the day, recall at the end of the day feels like friction too and I am heavily distracted by family during meals etc!
If you have a simple protocol (for instance, a 1-2-3 rating scale using a simple notes or tracking app) it is sometimes possible to incorporate measurement into routines like “sitting down at desk” or “first cup of coffee.” That has worked for me.