19. Collect data
Stuff happens so much, and there’s so much stuff that happens. Not all stuff is big and monumental. Some stuff is just quiet and slight. Just now. Did you see it? Something happened. I don’t know what that thing was, but you do.
Did you not see it? That’s okay. You just need to foster better awareness. Broaden your definition of what an event is. It doesn’t have to be dunks and 3-pointers, metaphorically. It can instead be the squeak of a sneaker. Metaphorically.
Try again. What just happened? Anything? Think about it.
Exactly.
These kinds of things happen constantly. The problem with a lot of this stuff is that it’s never really been recorded. People don’t think to catalog moments like “was there a tiny wind gust outside that made the leaves move a bit,” or “someone on TV said a word that started with a ‘b,’” or “the Wendy’s ‘high frive’ commercial is on again.” We can track time, frequency, intensity. All sorts of things.
You can do it however you like. Everything you’re thinking of collecting here is unique to you. There’s no precedent. No guide. The rules are yours to make. Just be rigorous. Thorough. You don’t want to get a few weeks into this and realize “Oh no. I wish I would have also tracked this other aspect.” Go big.
In the end, you’ll have a nice spreadsheet that you can make cool graphs out of to show people how you spent time from August to October. Data is important. You have proprietary data now. Your own Second Spectrum. Be proud.