KrauseFx's Life Tracking Dashboard Reveals 380,000 Data Points Over 10 Years

Developer Felix Krause has unveiled a comprehensive personal analytics dashboard that tracks over 380,000 data points across his life, offering an unprecedented look at how various factors like location, mood, fitness, and work habits interconnect over time.

The project, built on Krause's custom open-source platform FxLifeSheet, represents a decade of meticulous data collection spanning from 2014 to present. The dashboard visualizes everything from daily step counts and gym workouts to mood fluctuations and social interactions, all stored in Krause's private PostgreSQL database.

The Scale of Personal Data Collection

Krause's tracking system captures data from multiple sources:

• RescueTime: 149,466 entries tracking daily computer usage by application and website
• Foursquare Swarm: 126,285 location check-ins and points of interest
• Manual entries: 67,031 data points covering fitness, mood, sleep, social life, and nutrition
• Weather API: 15,442 entries for temperature, precipitation, and sunlight data
• Apple Health: 3,048 days of step count data

The most striking visualization shows the growth of data collection over time, with a dramatic increase starting in April 2019 when Krause began manually tracking 75 different metrics daily.

Key Insights From a Decade of Tracking

Several correlations emerge from the data. Days when Krause tracked his mood as "happy and excited" showed significant patterns:

• 50% more likely to have pushed comfort zones
• 44% more likely to have meditated
• 33% more excitement about the future
• 31% more likely to drink alcohol (social occasions)
• 28% more time spent reading or listening to audiobooks

Geographic patterns also reveal interesting trends. Krause walks more than twice as many steps in New York City compared to Vienna or San Francisco, attributing this to NYC's walkability and his habit of walking instead of taking public transit for trips under 40 minutes.

The Technical Infrastructure

Krause built a custom solution rather than relying on commercial quantified-self platforms. The system consists of three main components:

1. Database: A timestamp-based key-value store in PostgreSQL allowing flexible addition of new tracking categories
2. Data Inputs: A Telegram bot for manual data entry, plus automated imports from various services
3. Visualizations: Custom Ruby and JavaScript code using Plotly for data analysis and rendering

Privacy Considerations

Despite the personal nature of the data, Krause emphasizes that sensitive information remains protected. "The data shown above seems very personal but doesn't actually expose any sensitive information," he explains. "For example, disclosing your current location, your home address, or stores and places you frequently visit is sensitive and potentially dangerous."

Why Build Your Own Solution?

Krause's motivation stemmed from frustration with existing quantified-self platforms. "Much of the data visualized here is data many larger companies already have about you. Why shouldn't you have it as well?"

He specifically cites Apple Health as a missed opportunity, criticizing both its API design and the functionality of the Health app itself.

The Cost of Comprehensive Tracking

While the project offers fascinating insights, Krause acknowledges the significant time investment required. "Overall, having spent a significant amount of time building this project, scaling it up to the size it's at now, as well as analyzing the data, the main conclusion is that it is not worth building your own solution."

He notes that while the visualizations are interesting, they didn't justify the hundreds of hours invested in development and data collection.

Future of Personal Analytics

Krause plans to continue tracking key metrics like mood but will significantly reduce the scope of his data collection. He recommends others interested in quantified self approaches consider commercial solutions that offer data export capabilities and sustainable business models.

The complete source code for FxLifeSheet is available on GitHub under an MIT license, though Krause notes it requires engineering skills to set up and isn't actively supported.

For those curious about the full scope of Krause's life tracking, the complete dashboard is available at howisFelix.today, offering a rare glimpse into the patterns and correlations that emerge from a decade of comprehensive personal data collection.