Yeah, have also been thinking how to reduce the tracking overhead.

I used to use TapLog app [0] for android, it offers a widget and different kinds of trackers (e.g. text/numbers/simple counters, etc), so it was relatively low overhead (although still requires fetching your phone to track).

I also was thinking of using something like RFID tags, but haven't explored that yet. That would still require a phone to trigger the tag, but easier as you don't have to unlock/tap anything.

Regarding your idea, I feel like if you're willing to use a raspberry PI, you could massively simplify the setup by logging into a file/sqlite database and using something like syncthing [1] to sync it with your computer. So you won't even have to cooperate with the API upfront, you could simply start tracking 'events' and decide how to interpret them later. It would be more flexible and reliable as you won't be dependent on Internet access at all.

But I guess the hardest bit here is actually the hardware.

[0] https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.waterbear....

[1] https://syncthing.net

I like it. There’s definitely a class of things that I want to track but are too annoying to whip out my phone every time. Sometimes because that very habit involves avoiding digital devices.

It seems Amazon’s one-click purchasing buttons might be repurposed into this (assuming they’re still around; never tried one myself).

RFID stickers? Yes would require your phone but your wouldn't even need to turn it on, just take it out of your pocket and wave it over the sticker.

combine these for a no-code prototype:

- raspberry pi

- keyboard

- nextcloud/dropbox

- auto-saving text-editor

> press letter for event (print stickers and glue them on top if you want, just remember which letter)

> do a character count on the file

With a simple script you should be able to save a timestamp along with it.

Maybe these digital assistants could be trained on a short keyword and send yourself a message in any message app?