Visualizing My Time
A Data Self-Portrait
The Brief
Create a static data visualization for 6 days of data to represent a "data self-portrait." I chose to track how I spent my time, literally logging everything I did.
Year: Fall 2023 | Project Length: 1 week
The Challenge
Problem Statement: How can I visually represent my daily activities over the course of a week to gain insights into my time usage?
Why It Matters: Understanding time allocation can highlight personal habits and areas for improvement.
Tools & Process
Tools Used:
Google Forms - data collection Google Sheets -data processing & structuring Figma - final visualization design
Process Breakdown:
Data Collection: I set up a Google Form to log every activity throughout the day, ensuring a structured and consistent dataset. Cleaning & Structuring: I processed and categorized the data in Google Sheets to identify patterns. Chart Creation: I generated a treemap and bar chart in Google Sheets to visualize hierarchical relationships and time distribution. Final Design & Formatting: I imported the charts into Figma for styling, layout adjustments, and visual refinement.
Multi-Format Visualization Approach
Key Features
  1. Bar Chart: A stacked bar chart that functions as a timeline, showing daily activity breakdowns for each of the six recorded days, illustrating patterns and time distribution throughout the week.
  2. Insights/Analysis: Provides contextual interpretation of the data to highlight key findings and patterns.
  3. Tree map: Displays hierarchy and proportion relationships.
Why Use Multiple Visualizations?
Reinforces Insights: Different formats highlight different aspects of the same data. Caters to Different Cognitive Styles: Some users process numerical comparisons better, while others benefit from hierarchical views. Enhances Storytelling: A richer, more engaging way to present data insights.
Final Presentation
Reflection
What Worked :
Logging everything provided rich data, and the multi-format visualization allowed for diverse insights.
Challenges & Learnings:
A static visualization limits interactivity and data exploration.
Future Improvements:
If I were to redo this project, I would prefer using Tableau or an interactive Google Sheets dashboard to allow users to click and explore the data in more depth.