Mood Tracking

personal

Since September 12th, 2020, I started keeping mood logs. The entries are spread across various files for quick accessibility. Here is an example from my phone log:

 * log
:PROPERTIES:
:CREATED:  [2020-11-29 Sun 02:05]
:ID:       030e99b6-5e1d-4d69-b3ab-7f3e333aa185
:END:

I like this book. #mood(0) +reading

I started tracking mood to better understand connections of various events with my internal states. The hope is to manage a few of those internal states better. I have been doing a lot more than mood tracking but I find this to be the simplest habit to build and a good way to move towards fancier interventions. Whenever I feel something is happening, I make a note of the event along with a mood tag that lies in {-2, -1, 0, +1, +2}. 0 means neutral . +1 maps to being happy. +2 is a state where I can't be happier, these are special moments that I keep in my memory. On the negative side, -1 maps to states that I can recover from after taking some time. -2 maps to terrible meltdowns, either based on externalities or internal aberrations.

Since my way of tracking mood is event based, I have days where there are no entries, and days where there are many entries. Aggregation becomes a problem but I believe a small multiple based on min, mean, and max works. Below is one such view:

Figure 1: Min, mean and max statistics of mood scores. Mean values are rounded to integers. Click to zoom.

After tracking for a month or so, I went to a feeling wheel and tried getting more granular view. Here is the tree mapped to mood score colors from the plot without coloring the neutral items:

Fearful 》 Scared 》 Helpless
Fearful 》 Scared 》 Frightened
Fearful 》 Anxious 》 Overwhelmed
Fearful 》 Anxious 》 Worried
Fearful 》 Insecure 》 Inadequate
Fearful 》 Insecure 》 Inferior
Fearful 》 Weak 》 Worthless
Fearful 》 Weak 》 Insignificant
Fearful 》 Rejected 》 Excluded
Fearful 》 Rejected 》 Persecuted
Fearful 》 Threatened 》 Nervous
Fearful 》 Threatened 》 Exposed
Angry 》 Let down 》 Betrayed
Angry 》 Let down 》 Resentful
Angry 》 Humiliated 》 Disrespected
Angry 》 Humiliated 》 Ridiculed
Angry 》 Bitter 》 Indignant
Angry 》 Bitter 》 Violated
Angry 》 Mad 》 Furious
Angry 》 Mad 》 Jealous
Angry 》 Aggressive 》 Provoked
Angry 》 Aggressive 》 Hostile
Angry 》 Frustrated 》 Infuriated
Angry 》 Frustrated 》 Annoyed
Angry 》 Distant 》 Withdrawn
Angry 》 Distant 》 Numb
Angry 》 Critical 》 Skeptical
Angry 》 Critical 》 Dismissive
Disgusted 》 Disapproving 》 Judgmental
Disgusted 》 Disapproving 》 Embarrassed
Disgusted 》 Disappointed 》 Appalled
Disgusted 》 Disappointed 》 Revolted
Disgusted 》 Awful 》 Nauseated
Disgusted 》 Awful 》 Detestable
Disgusted 》 Repelled 》 Horrified
Disgusted 》 Repelled 》 Hesitant
Sad 》 Hurt 》 Embarrassed
Sad 》 Hurt 》 Disappointed
Sad 》 Depressed 》 Inferior
Sad 》 Depressed 》 Empty
Sad 》 Guilty 》 Remorseful
Sad 》 Guilty 》 Ashamed
Sad 》 Despair 》 Grief
Sad 》 Despair 》 Powerless
Sad 》 Vulnerable 》 Victimized
Sad 》 Vulnerable 》 Fragile
Sad 》 Lonely 》 Isolated
Sad 》 Lonely 》 Abandoned
Happy 》 Optimistic 》 Inspired
Happy 》 Optimistic 》 Hopeful
Happy 》 Trusting 》 Intimate
Happy 》 Trusting 》 Sensitive
Happy 》 Peaceful 》 Thankful
Happy 》 Peaceful 》 Loving
Happy 》 Powerful 》 Creative
Happy 》 Powerful 》 Courageous
Happy 》 Accepted 》 Valued
Happy 》 Accepted 》 Respected
Happy 》 Proud 》 Confident
Happy 》 Proud 》 Successful
Happy 》 Interested 》 Inquisitive
Happy 》 Interested 》 Curious
Happy 》 Content 》 Joyful
Happy 》 Content 》 Free
Happy 》 Playful 》 Aroused
Happy 》 Playful 》 Cheeky
Surprised 》 Excited 》 Energetic
Surprised 》 Excited 》 Eager
Surprised 》 Amazed 》 Awe
Surprised 》 Amazed 》 Astonished
Surprised 》 Confused 》 Perplexed
Surprised 》 Confused 》 Disillusioned
Surprised 》 Startled 》 Dismayed
Surprised 》 Startled 》 Shocked
Bad 》 Tired 》 Unfocused
Bad 》 Tired 》 Sleepy
Bad 》 Stressed 》 Out of control
Bad 》 Stressed 》 Overwhelmed
Bad 》 Busy 》 Rushed
Bad 》 Busy 》 Pressured
Bad 》 Bored 》 Apathetic
Bad 》 Bored 》 Indifferent

A few observations:

The 0 and +1 feelings interfere constructively to get to +2
I am clumping a lot of items under 0. This needs to change in some form since I don't think the current score definition will be consistent for long term.
Feelings don't represent all of what is tracked in mood score. Or they don't help to completely understand the score trends. There is a lot of context missing.

I feel mood tracking has not been helping me in a direct way but it definitely is impacting things indirectly. If you want a hackable solution for yourself, start with nomie. Its data format is simple to parse and allows building custom workflows and tools very easily.