Data

I love data. If I can create a spreadsheet for something I will. I love to track it, record it, make decisions about what is useful information for the dataset and what isn't.

Over the years I've tracked my budget, my weight, my diet, my writing output, my reading, credit card repayments - pretty much any habit I've tried to build or lose, I've tracked it in a spreadsheet.

Generally, it's creating the spreadsheet that I enjoy most. Deciding how to set it up, what calculations I can do on the data, seeing if I can forecast anything.

One of my favourites was my debt repayment spreadsheet. I had my various debts, (credit cards, student loan, overdraft. etc), how much I was able to repay each month, and interest rates. I showed me exactly how long it was going to take to pay off each one. It allowed me to add in when I had been able to make additional repayments and recalculated amounts and dates based on that. It wasn't only useful, but it was really motivational as well. Each month when I was able to make extra payments, I loved seeing that debt free date come closer and closer.

My other favourite is my Reading List spreadsheet. I have four tabs in it. Finished, In progress, TBR - owned, TBR - to buy. I have a years long record of books I've read and my ratings of them. TBR - owned means books that own copies of, of course, but also includes books I have access to via the library. TBR - to buy, is books that I would need to purchase to read. It comes in handy every year when Husband asks what to get me for my birthday.