Personal Informatics and Reflection: A Critical Examination of the Nature of Reflection

Abstract

Personal informatics systems that help people both collect and reflect on various kinds of personal information are growing rapidly. Despite the importance of journaling and the main role it has in tracking one’s personal growth, a limited number of studies have examined journaling in the area of personal informatics in detail. In this paper, we critically examine the process of reflection on experiences, thoughts and evolving insights through a qualitative research study. We also present the design research process we conducted to develop the Wandering Mind as a support tool to help individuals record and reflect on their experiences.