Zen Log - my lifelogging iPhone app

I first bought my iPhone specifically so that I could track my mood. After trying all of the available self-tracking / data-entry apps I couldn’t find one that didn’t feel like a chore to use.

So I built me own: Zen Log (iTunes preview)

It’s optimized for numerical input (no text) and is designed to minimize mental friction while using it. The input method is a long-press (tap and hold) and you do this after scrolling to the selected log and scrolling to the value you want to log. So there are only two modes: scrolling, and a long-press.

This makes the app effortless to use and requires minimal cognition and barely any precision from your fingers - so you can use it while walking, talking, or with your non-dominant hand.

*Basically, for me, it took lifelogging from being a chore to being something I barely think about. *

I use it to track my mood, sleep quality, pulse rate, temperature, and whenever I sneeze.

While I think the iPhone is a great tool for capturing/logging data, I don’t think it’s a good tool for any serious plotting or analysis. So there’s no charting within the app. Data is exported by emailing a CSV file.

Hope you find the app as useful as I do.

Note that the first log is free and fully editable and functional. Creating additional logs requires a one-time in-app purchase.

PROS: Fast, intuitive, gets out of your way, versatile.
CONS: No text entry, no charting, no server syncing.

Could you show 1. your data? 2. something you’ve learned from using it?

Coming up. Am running a Morning Faces experiment and trying different sizes, etc. Will publish the results on my website and add a link here.

Interestingly enough, I knew about your Morning Faces discovery several years ago, but only got around to trying it after I started tracking my mood every day with this app.