Media Consumption Tracker

Today I set up a new database to track all the movies, dramas, and TV shows I watch. Why? For one, to see how much time I waste. For another, logging what I've seen feels like an accomplishment. It feels even more of a waste to watch something and then forget I ever watched it. It will be interesting to see over time how my tastes change, or how consumption patterns coincide with or affect major decisions in my life.

I've already been tracking this in my HabitShare app, just making a note of what I watched, whether its a movie or series episode. Now with this database, I'll be able to sort and filter. It will be a bit of work to keep it updated on a daily basis. But that friction also serves as a reminder to be mindful of my consumption habits. I plan to track every single episode I watch. Then it will calculate the sum of how many hours I spend watching stuff per day/week/month.

The act of measuring itself does nothing to help. It just serves as additional awareness, so that it's always top of mind. When you're always thinking about how to improve something, you're more likely to make subtle changes. (Especially if there's a nagging part that's more active in criticizing you if you don't. That's not the best way to make changes, but it can be effective. As long as there's not another rebellious part that causes it to backfire.)