Share your Data Gems creations and ideas here. (Photos would be great!)
- What data are meaningful to you?
- What data are you tracking?
- What do different parts of your data tracker stand for? the colors? The charms?
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I need to remember to stand up and walk and not sit all day.
I’m tracking how many times I get up and stand up every hour.
Each bead is a 15 min block, and they go from blue to red, if I forget to stand up.
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I am using the tracker for 3 things over the next few weeks.
I need to start new habits and be aware of not taking time
to breathe.
I will be tracking the following things
Journaling- What is going on around me? How am I feeling? Just check in.
(I did not get those beads added yet.)
Water- 8 cups per day. Right now I am good at drinking one cup a day.
Walk- I need to get up and intentionally take a walk and enjoy life.
I have a bell to remind me to do that and I hope to at least do this
3-4 times a day and I will use knots for this one.
Very excited to see the changes in how I feel when I get home after
my busy day with the families and friends at the library.
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Ivan - that’s awesome! I also used beads to represent minutes.
Leila, great idea --I like how it looks like you used a … number line organization for your tracker? I didn’t think of using positive/negative counters in that way … If I’m interpreting it correctly, it starts at “0” or neutral and if you bought a random thing you didn’t need, it would be at “-1” but if you bought 3 focused things/or essentials it would move to “2”?
Janea - I was tempted to use the keychain concept too --I love how you can track multiple things with it.
At first I was trying to think of something to track at work, since I could put it on my lanyard and most of us are at work the majority of our day time … I thought about tracking the number of positive or negative patron interactions but I didn’t feel like that would be very beneficial for me personally …
The first tracker I made was inspired by the cute little pizza charm I found with the beads. Each bead represents when I bought a meal/ate out, I also used the colors as another visual reminder. I decided up to 3 times a week was reasonable so the blue/green colors are “calm” but as the number increases, the colors start to intensify (like yellow/orange starting to get into red/danger zone) … XD. It’s also flexible that if I’m reaching my goals, I could adjust it, like only have 3 beads because now I’m aiming to only eat out once a week, so 1 = green, 2 = yellow, 3 = red. The bracelet format was utilized because it’s visible and the stitch marker won’t fall off.
I came up with a second tracker/what I’m actually going to use this week though because I realized that the going out to eat tracker was something more for my husband and not as applicable to myself, so I picked decluttering! It’s a love/hate relationship … but it’s something I’ve been reading about and working on. My husband has asked me before to just set 30 minutes a day to declutter to make it a habit, but I tend to do big stretches on my off day and sometimes it makes me feel like I’m not able to do anything “fun” when I am off, so I do want to try his suggestion. For this weekly decluttering tracker, the beads each represent 30 minutes of time spent decluttering. I alternated the transparent and solid color beads to make a clear visual representation of 1 hour. I put seven hours worth of beads because I thought that ideally, one hour of decluttering a day would almost equal to spending a whole work day decluttering. I will use the duck charm as the marker because it makes me happy to look at, LOL.
I’m curious to see what data you think kids or teens would want to track … The 'zine is very helpful for taking us through the brainstorming process, but I think some of my patrons would want to see other examples/tracking ideas to help spark their inspiration …
Since summer reading is going on, it might be fun to make a tracker for how many minutes/books you read … I also thought of things you are learning, someone mentioned playing guitar, lots of kids/teens have musical instruments to practice. Learning languages, etc.?
I also thought of more … frivolous?/fun ones like in K-Pop fandoms, they have countdowns for the number of days or months until a favorite member returns from their mandatory military enlistment. Weeks until a new book/show/game releases? This would also maybe be a cute way for kids to countdown until a loved one returns from a trip/deployment, countdown until a birthday or other celebration or holiday?
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I love the frivolous idea–at the rec center I visited this week the kids had a sign like 213 days until Christmas and 178 days until Whale Appreciation Day! And yes, exactly, I was thinking it’s like a continuum of spending–every week I start at 0 and go up and down into the negative/positive. Decluttering, boss idea, I should def pick that one up!
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I also resonate with the decluttering idea! Thinking about larger goals, do I want to declutter because I want to have less clutter or maybe it’s more so that I have space to start new projects?
Am I procrastinating working on fun projects that bring me joy? Maybe I can just shove the clutter under the bed or into a closet so I temporarily have space and time to do something fun for myself? Hmmm.
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Hi everyone! I was sorry to miss last week’s initial gathering and am looking forward to connecting with all of you later today.
Here’s what I created for tracking/goals. Without participating last week, I hope this is on track for the project!
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Move: ducks paddle furiously under the surface of the water, and I need to be more intentional about moving at work, especially now that the school year is over and I’m not out doing outreach for the library! I’ll move the duck each hour I get up and move and then ring the bell at the end of an 8-hour shift if successful!
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Connect: at the end of each day, hopefully I will have connected with someone in a meaningful and positive way. This can be through text, phone call, or even patron interaction. I chose the starfish for a tracker because for some reason that bead felt like it was reaching out to connect! (This is a yes/no thing. The blue bead is a yes, I connected; brown bead is no, I didn’t.)
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Create: I’m an old school paper crafter and love to create handmade cards. I hope to be more intentional about doing this rather than…(see next data point). I chose the blue tracker bead because blue is one of my favorite colors. (Again, this is a yes/no thing.)
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Ignore: when I’m at home, I am prone to scrolling on my phone, usually social media to get ideas for cards. I hope to ignore my phone a bit more each hour, so that I have time to actually make the cards! I chose red beads so that I STOP scrolling.
I’ll try to upload the photo here as well.
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@kjh Hi Kary! Thank you for sharing. I love this multi-dimensional approach to making sure you are physically, socially, and creatively participating in life! The way you incorporate the bells are a lovely touch, adding a celebratory element at the end of the day.
I’ve been making so many different variations of these data bracelets, and found that I really need to be more concrete about what everything represents. Otherwise I just forget! Here are two bracelets I made:
This one is to remind me to read (I have an enormous backlog of books I hoard!). Each bead represents 10 minutes of reading. It goes well with my digital (not smart) watch that has a timer built in.
Each time I push the button at the upper right side, it cycles through 1 min, 3 min (great for timing tea!), 5 min, 10 min, 15 min, 20 min, and 30 min. So I can set the timer for 10 minutes by pushing the button 4 times.
This bracelet reminds me to craft for myself or others, and it also tracks my mood. I’m aiming for 8 small craft projects a week. Still thinking about what kind of arts and crafts count, maybe ones that feel more joyful! I chose the yellow duck because that feels classic and I associate yellow with joy.
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Here are some new photos with the class today.
June 18th, 2024.
I broke my first tracker.
I had worn it all week so it held up nicely until I
was leaving the program and it got caught in
my seatbelt.
I have put it on one of the stronger bracelets.
I will be looking at the data that I am collecting
and seeing what chart/tracker my items will fall in or will make my own.
I also after joking about all of my photos and someone sharing about
tracker #8 What My Camera Sees
I will look into doing that one and then cleaning up the pictures.
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I did bring the materials home for my kids to play with and they all wanted to make tags for their backpacks and found the bead kit really appealing.
This is a tracker that my six year old made but I don’t know what he wanted to track!
Some of my library kids have been bringing in little bead kits like this but with composite clay beads, which were really attractive- like these https://www.amazon.com/Velavior-Bracelet-Making-Friendship-Polymer/dp/B0CGX5XXP7/ref=sr_1_4_sspa?crid=1QNWYI2F7L4YK&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.Zj1VV4qFLSccIFQCyAuDiYejYn-9hDf5NGhkiiDO41A1N-CYScSVJTBtvZ71qeUq8XTJy89MXGmuFgclbV--0BnG0PgZ1UZ5wP1nvjlYssl2y4Hi9C7sD5xXVZhMY_yAN_WVQplLitRDj2wjJ_EG8EDLg20bVOgsnvf-M8idyubv7fQbaoEyK4ozC00-ebvwqeych0lJeQDvnXr2P_i_jJXfJwjpQbT4-SHTWmA4HzY8KBkwbJ9j3MxrEM5VuYN4zBx0f0NMZby0Ghaxrll1Pi0B1eBfjO5n8ojFty4mtYI.jMICAjRyEjBSfc0TeODt-Cxv4fYsFBXTH91pYD2FtAY&dib_tag=se&keywords=composite+clay+bead+set&qid=1719337900&sprefix=composite+clay+bead+set%2Caps%2C372&sr=8-4-spons&sp_csd=d2lkZ2V0TmFtZT1zcF9hdGY&psc=1
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The wearable data bracelets have been really helpful in reminding to read and craft. At the end of the day, I collect all the data into this data journal spread. But what I realized is that the reading part more often happens at that time of data collection! The crafting data tracking happens throughout the day, because I can’t always remember what I’ve done. What’s interesting is that the mood tracking became an evening reflection of my day, with multiple moods and colors. Over the colors, I added in what I did (or what happened) that made me feel this way. Over time, I imagine that it’ll encourage me to avoid the things that make me feel sad or dreary and spend more time on things that make me feel joyful, calm, and playful!
Since the wearable data trackers aren’t for everyone (for myself I sometimes find the bracelets to be in the way and not always great sensory-wise even though they’re very cute), I tested out these credit-card-sized accordion booklets, to track data. Keeping it small and easily pocketable with something I already carry around could be good!
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How did it go? What has changed? Did you notice any patterns?
–It’s been going okay. I forgot how long it can take to form a habit --for my decluttering tracker, I am still falling into the trap of decluttering in large chunks of time. In our 2nd meeting, one librarian had mentioned she liked that the beads could stand for different amounts of time, so even though I originally had each bead represent 30 minutes, I am going to switch it to 10 minutes or make the translucent beads = 10 minutes, and the opaque beads stand for 30 minutes. Hopefully that will make it easier for me to start my habit of decluttering a little every day and then I can increase the time period spent daily.
What kinds of data are meaningful to your library patrons / customers?
–I’m still brainstorming data for kids and teens (youth services), probably similar to what I mentioned earlier … In the context of library services, when their materials are due, when the library is open?
What are some of their favorite library programs? How might you integrate Data Gems as a layer to your existing programs?
–Oh, I like this one … I’ll have to think about how we could integrate this … I feel like arts and crafts are usually enjoyed (because they’re free) … We are about to launch a 1,000 Books Before Kindergarten type of program later this summer at my library, maybe Data Gems could be introduced to the caregivers/families that would be participating? Minutes read, if they read to their child, or if they’re old enough, the child could make the tracker to remind their caregivers to read to them?
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I’ve expanded my toolkit on how to represent data collected and what type of data can be collected. The examples have been very inspiring.
As far as the library, probably items checked out, how many books read. But in their personal lives, I’d thing personal health, social impact data are important. Probably budgeting and financial data as well.
I can now see how data analysis can be introduced in many activities but I’d have to think about it a bit more. But one thing that comes to mind is keep track of 3d print stats; when someone designs or requests a sample print, show them amount of material used, time need to print, size of print. That could be a fun visualization with their prints.
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How did it go?
I enjoyed doing the tracking again this week.
What has changed?
I tracked it with my Data Bracelet and then put it on paper in my journal.
I found that very helpful.
Did you notice any patterns?
I drink more water when I am at home.
I do more walking when I am at work!
What kinds of data are meaningful to your library patrons / customers?
Activities, Booklists, Crafting, Food lists (recipes) and much more
What are some of their favorite library programs?
Crafts, gaming, music, sports activities & (anything with movement)
How might you integrate Data Gems as a layer to your existing programs?
I shared about the financial programs for our tweens/teens.
We also teach crafts and instruments.
This could be a way to track new crafts and practice time on instruments.
I am not able to add a picture at this time but I will try to soon. I am sorry!
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I’ve been thinking about paper/tracking on paper/writing and some of the tweens I work with. Unlike myself (classic lib personality, love of paper, book awe), many of them only equate paper with school/work, but they are super eager to dig “inwards”, to find out more about themselves, to find ways they connect with others and ways they are unique. The tactile methods of tracking are how I’m going to go with them, and I’ll report back on how it goes. One thing I’ve done with them that they LOVE is making badges to go on lanyards. So I use these small sheets and have them make an “ID” that is really all about their own identification–collage, markers, stickers, stamps, metallic anything is really popular, etc. It is small, like an artist trading card, so not super intimidating, and once they get into it, they make multiple and then “choose” which ID reflects them on any particular day. I want to add the Data Gems to these lanyards, I think it would really appeal to them! The kindness idea would be cool, drinking water, going outside, running around, a “mood lanyard”, whatever. Then take it that next step and have them understand that their data can really help self awareness, see patterns in what they do, change it or modify their actions in positive ways. I’ll keep y’all posted 
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Do you have a svg file for the plastic part? I can give it a go if it doesn’t exist already.
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Which plastic part? The pointing thing at the top is a slim metal Book Dart. (My notebook also has these really cool slim index tabs that stick out just the right amount.)
And the other thing in the pictures is a heart-shaped paper clip.
I was looking at the yellow cover that says “Data Gems”.
The yellow cover is actually just cardstock 3.375"x4" folded in half. I used a border paper punch on it to make it cute.
When I was making it, I was thinking about those wallet-sized magnetic accordion address books. So any material you like to work with is totally cool