Creativity is often seen as an unstructured, free-flowing process. But what if we could track it like a data scientist—measuring time, effort, and connections between ideas?

Time and effort form the foundation of a creative life. But what else drives progress and helps us complete meaningful work? How do our journal entries, readings, conversations, and even AI interactions shape our creative outputs?

I’ve been tracking my life in a wide-range of ways for multiple years. Time and task tracking are the core as well as weekly reviews. I also track my writing and have a detailed and extensive record my words and notes. I also have a record of my AI tool usage. Whether it’s a journal entry, personal project notes or reading highlights, I have a digital version and data trail of my written attention over time. While I don’t yet have a way to track the flow of ideas in my conscious mind, I suppose I have second best, a pretty complete record of my typed words.

On and off for the past couple years I’ve proposed an added tracking challenge, trying to quantify and track my creativity. In 2019, I explored the intersection of daily creative typed words, specific added words by domain and my creative writing output. For several of my music albums, including the last one, I have attempted to tease out how much time goes into song writing and reworking and results in songs finished and released. Last year in 2023 I tried to show that a huge component driving one’s success as a creative are our inputs, namely time and certain core creative tasks. There I was able to show how much time it took for released music vs. blog posts.

In this post, I take a deep dive into my year in creativity—what I worked on, what I learned and how my creative process unfolded. My focus spans three personal creative goals: writing, music and my startup app development for Stay Reflective. Each of them involved planning, check-ins, experimentation, reflection, and sustained effort to turn ideas into tangible creative creations.

But creativity isn’t just the finished projects. It’s also the inputs, like the time spent reading, journaling, researching and organizing ideas and next steps. All of these shape the final output, leaving a digital trail of the creative process.

Let’s explore!

My Creative Input - Time

Tracking time helps me understand how my creative energy is distributed. Compared to 2023, my priorities shifted, and here’s where most of my non-client creative time went in 2024.

✍️ Writing:

~139 hrs (down from 208 hrs in 2023). This was a significant drop—partly due to my increased focus on music and Stay Reflective, but also a shift in my creative energy. While I wrote less overall, I prioritized more refined pieces.

🎶 Music:

~314 hrs (up from 267 hrs in 2023). Music took center stage this year, reflecting a strong commitment to both production and finishing projects.

🚀 Stay Reflective:

~280 hrs, spread across design, development, marketing, and launch work. This time investment reflects the push to get the app fully released and into the hands of users.

In total, I dedicated 733 hours last year to my core creative goals and activities. This represents a deliberate investment of time into creative work, shaping what I was able to produce in 2024. While the mix of priorities shifted, I’m proud to say the total creative effort remained strong.

Creative Inputs - What Shaped My Thinking in 2024?

Last year I read 69 books and made 3,056 total book highlights. I also explored a wide range of technical and academic papers, diving into topics that shaped my creative projects and professional and personal thinking.

Here’s a month-by-month snapshot of the key themes I explored throughout the year. Some topics were deep dives, while others were passing fascinations that sparked creative inspiration.

  • January: Longevity (Outlive, True Age), Flutter & Firebase, Body Composition & DEXA Scan, Python Data Analysis, Future Self
  • February: Drug Use for Grown-Ups, Journaling & Reflection, Longevity, Music Production, Flutter & Firebase
  • March: Flutter & Firebase, Feel Good Productivity, Japan & Japanese Language
  • April: The Gift, Elon Musk Biography, Japanese Culture & History, Japanese Modern Novels, AI & Creativity, History of Music
  • May: AI & Creativity, History of Music, ML/Recommenders, Psychologist Alfred Adler, The Courage to Be Disliked, Both/And Thinking, Go-to-Market Strategy
  • June: Music Synthesis (Synthorial), Biology of Aging, The Comfort Crisis
  • July: Empire of the Summer Moon, Effective Altruism, GLP-1 / Ozempic, The Gift of Athena
  • August: Make Time, The Gift of Athena, Longevity & Biology of Aging, Handbook of Behavior Change, Google Apps Script
  • September: Longevity, Cancer Screening & Immunotherapy, Rust, Mac Miller Biography, Ukulele, Supercommunicators
  • October: UFOs & Aliens, Alien Phenomenology, A/B Controlled Experiments, Dao De Jing, The Ministry for the Future, Immune System, Startup Failure
  • November: Immune System, The Mind Is Flat, Why Startups Fail, iOS & Android Mobile Development (Flutter & Rust)
  • December: Central America, William Walker, Brain’s Spatial Navigation

Check out my 2024 book review post forrecommendations and thoughts on my favorite and most impactful books read.

My Creative Output

Blogs and Newsletters Published

Since starting this blog in 2007, I’ve published 336 articles—an average of 19 per year. In 2024, I published 15 blogs, articles, and speeches, which was 8 fewer than 2023’s total. Despite the decline in total output, my writing focused more deeply on AI, creativity, longevity, and personal reflection.

In 2024, my writing and speeches explored the evolving relationship between AI and human creativity. I focused on AI as a tool for empowerment and reflection, advocating for transparency, ethical considerations, and intentional AI usage. Here are some questions worth reflecting on:

  • What does AI tools mean for my learning and productive and creative work?
  • How can I use AI to augment my own creative process, rather than merely feeling replaced?
  • What does authenticity mean to me in the age of AI?

Below is a breakdown of my blog posts and speeches by topic:

Reflection / Stay Reflective

Empowering Music Technology Students through AI-Enhanced Reflection: Case Study – A case study on integrating AI-enhanced journaling into music technology education to improve engagement, self-awareness, and creative skills.

Speech: From Reflection to Composition and Beyond – Talk at Foothill College on “Creativity in the Age of AI,” discussing AI as a creative tool and the role of AI-enhanced self-awareness in creative work.

AI
Music
Biology and Longevity

In my work at the intersection of biotech, aging research, and medtech, I continually learn and share insights. Here are some of my key contributions in 2024:

Check out more on longevity interventions and biological age testing at MyAgingTests.com.

“Year in Data” Posts

Additionally I wrote two liner notes write-ups on my music album releases.

~

While my total published content was slightly lower than last year, 2024 was a year of deeper exploration—especially in AI, longevity, and creative self-tracking. Society and technology are rapidly changing and evolving. Hard questions are facing us as individuals and communities. Writing continues to be a foundational part of my creative process, shaping both my projects and my thinking.

Music Released

In 2024, I released two full-length albums under my stage name, Stellar Mammals, bringing my total discography to X albums. Each album was accompanied by detailed liner notes that document my creative process.

In total, I released 26 tracks across two albums last year.

While I primarily create music for myself, it’s exciting to see my work resonate with listeners. In 2024, my music was streamed over 41,000 times in 158 countries.

My most-streamed track, Undercurrents, has reached nearly 25,000 streams to date!

Software Product(s) Released: Stay Reflective

Every year, I aim to release an open-source project on GitHub and build a new product of my own. In 2024, I took a major step forward with Stay Reflective—a journaling and reflection app that helps users track, structure, and deepen their self-reflection practices.

I started with an initial web version of Stay Reflective at the start of the year and eventually ended year with mobile app versions on iOS and Android.

I’m overdue for an announcement blog post, but in short: I believe reflection can be more impactful and accessible. That’s why I built Stay Reflective—an app designed to enhance journaling and self-reflection through thoughtful design and AI-assisted guidance.

I ran my first pilot study with music technology students at Foothill College (Read my case study). The goal was to see if we could make goal-setting and reflection moments more engaging and insightful. The pilot and subsequent experiments showed how powerful AI-enhanced reflection can be. Many users spend over 30 minutes on a single reflection journey.

Here is a month on month snapshot of my time put into Stay Reflective:

Since then, I’ve signficantly improved the backend, frontend, design and interaction experience. I’ve added many more reflection journeys and created various open-end reflection topics.

Though Stay Reflective started as a side project, it has grown into a platform with a steady user base. I’m excited to keep improving the design, expand our features, and grow our network of reflection facilitators.

If you are interested in an empowering and self-awareness centered form of reflection, give it try at StayReflective.com. One of the most engaging journeys is Manifesting My Future Self—I’d love to hear your thoughts on it!

My Creative Input - AI Chats and Conversations

A few years ago, I launched Quantified ChatGPT, an open-source project that tracks and visualizes AI interactions. The goal? To better understand how AI-assisted conversations shape my learning, research, and creative outputs. By analyzing my chat history, I hope to uncover patterns that connect my explorations with my writings, projects, and innovations.

2024 AI Usage Overview

Last year, I exchanged 5,269 messages with OpenAI’s ChatGPT—a 36.7% increase from 3,852 messages in 2022. On average, I had 18.6 messages per conversation, sending approximately 439 messages per month.

Here’s my yearly trend:

What Did I Use ChatGPT For?

Here’s an aggregated breakdown of my AI interactions by topic:

  • Rust Development (405)
  • Firebase & Data Analysis (512)
  • Citation & Research Organization (246)
  • Longevity & Aging Research (408)
  • Flutter & Mobile Development (304)
  • Music & Creative Projects (220)
  • Sound Therapy & Health Tech (225)
  • Business & Growth Strategy (186)
  • Software Development & Debugging (186)
  • Art & Design (244)
  • Miscellaneous (314)

Breakding this down a bit more, in summary, here are some noticeable insights:

  1. Software Development (1,221 messages, ~48%)
    • Focused on Rust SDKs, Firebase, Flutter, and debugging.
    • Key projects: Rust SDK, Firebase data handling, mobile app development.
  2. Research & Knowledge Management (654 messages, ~26%)
    • Covered longevity, epigenetics, citation management, and structured research.
    • Key focus: Biological aging, AI in research, and knowledge organization.
  3. Business & Growth (304 messages, ~12%)
    • Topics: Startup strategy, marketing, monetization.
    • Key focus: Growth for Stay Reflective & refining business models.
  4. Music & Creative Projects (338 messages, ~13%)
    • Jekyll themes, music production, album ideation, and artistic design.
    • A mix of technical work (web design, branding) and creative projects.
  5. Health & Therapy Tech (225 messages, ~9%)
    • Sound therapy, therapist app features, and health technology applications.
    • Heavy focus on product development for AudioCardio and therapeutic applications.
  6. Miscellaneous (125 messages, ~5%)
    • Time tracking, personal productivity, and assorted topics.
Thoughts on My AI Interactions

Looking at the data, nearly half of my AI interactions were deeply technical—focusing on software development, SDKs, and app integrations. Beyond that, my engagement balanced research (26%), business growth (12%), and health tech (9%), reflecting my worka nd interest in longevity, hearing loss, and cognitive health. Meanwhile, music and creative projects accounted for 13%, reinforcing my continued investment in artistic expression alongside my tech work.

My Creative Inputs - Reflection, Journaling and Typed Words

I recently explored the idea that reflection is essential for navigating complex, nonlinear creative challenges in this piece. The ability to step back and assess our knowledge and actions in real time is a critical skill for creative practitioners.

It should come as no surprise that journaling and note-taking are central to my creative process. While effort and time drive progress, without reflection, we miss opportunities for learning, feedback, and innovation. AI is an important novel tool for learning and strategizing, but my most valuable creative habit remains journaling and reflection in my own voice. Whether I’m starting my day or wrapping up creative work, taking time to write and process ideas is a foundational practice.

Journaling: How many journal entries did I write?

I wrote a total of 170 digital journal entries in 2024 which was a slight increase from 2023’s 167. My most common form of journaling is morning pages where I jot a thought, what I’m feeling or what’s on my mind. I now often use Stay Reflective to generate follow-up questions to explore my intentions, challenge my assumptions and gain a fresh perspective.

“Creative” Words Typed: How many words did I type and using which programs?

On my Mac, I use program called WordCounter that that tracks how many typed words I type and in which programs. In 2024, I typed a total of 24.6k creative words, averaging 815 words per day

Here is a heatmap comparing 2024 vs 2023:

While the direct connection between general word typing and creative output isn’t revealed in this data, I am confident that my habit of regular typing, journaling, and reflection plays a critical role in my creative productivity.

Reflection Questions Answered (powered by Stay Reflective)

I firmly believe that the best way to start journaling is with your own thoughts and voice. However, I’m increasingly excited about how AI can help deepen self-reflection journeys by providing structured follow-up questions and prompts. AI fits best as a tool for augmenting the human element and challenging us.

Beyond the hundreds of new users who tried Stay Reflective, I was an active user myself. In 2024, I answered 556 reflection questions, using AI-generated prompts to deepen my self-exploration.

Notably, there was a marked increase in both questions answered and word count from August to October—a sign of deep engagement during that period.

Concluding Thoughts: Reflection—The Lynchpin Between the Creative Process and Tangible Outputs

What does it entail to pursue a creative life, one centered on sustainable progress and meaningful creative output while avoiding burnout?

The short answer? Creativity requires sustained effort, persistence and adaptability towards a certain meaningful outcome. Whether your goal is artist, entrepreneurial or technical, you have to put in the work and the time.

This simple answer hides the harder and more difficult reality that many of us as creatives and entrepreneurs struggle to decide, make progress and actually reach our goals. The path isn’t always clear, and success requires more than just doing the work—it requires critical reflection on the process itself.

In fact, most “successful” artists and creators enage in reflection-in-action. They are constantly questioning, refining and improve their mehtods as they navigate ambiguous and uncertain creative challenges.

For the past several years, I’ve tracked my time, book reading, journaling habits, creative writing output, and even AI interactions. These data points, woven together, form the foundation of my creative process—whether in writing, music production, or software development.

At its core, I believe learning should be a lifelong pursuit, and if you don’t make time for your own creative and intellectual growth, you’ll always be working on other people’s priorities. Journaling, note-taking, and structured reflection act as critical tools to sustain progress and navigate uncertainty.

As a believer in self-tracking and AI, I see data and AI-powered reflection as tools to enhance creative alignment, even though their role and state of authenticity are shifting. Tracking progress keeps you accountable, while AI has the potential to nudge curiosity, expand creative thinking, and refine personal insights.

What Should You Do When You Feel Stuck or Uncertain About a Creative Goal?

Many factors can derail our creative progress—situational challenges, cognitive blocks, emotional resistance, motivation dips, or gaps in skills. Obstacles are inevitable, but a robust reflective practice can enable you to be more aligned with your creative journey and make better decisions.

I recommend journaling and self-reflection as essential tools for cultivating self-awareness, gaining mental clarity and finding alignment.

Obviously if you don’t put in the work that directly contributes to your craft, you’ll never achieve your goals. But creativity isn’t just about doing; it’s also about thinking, evaluating and iterating. Creative “success” or “progress” rarely follow some rational or linear path. Most successful creators don’t just produce; they reflect, refine and experiment.


Check out other posts, data visualizations and infographics from my year in data!

Got a comment? Send me an email.


AIDA (AI Disclosure Acknowledgement): This post was written entirely by me. I leveraged an AI system (ChatGPT-4) for data analysis, spellcheck and minor revisions for clarity and structure. I used an AI system (Midjourney) for the cover art and conclusion images. All other data visualization images were rendered using QS Ledger.