A guest blog post by Dave Asprey. Dave is a biohacker and founder of The Bulletproof Executive Blog and Upgraded Self online store. He appears in the in the upcoming documentary, Lifeloggers and can be found on Bulletproofexec.com, UpgradedSelf.com, Facebook: The Bulletproof Executive & Twitter: @bulletproofexec

21^st Century science, technology, and social networking are here to save the day!! Right?! How could we possibly manage to live fulfilling lives without iPhones, apps, cameras, Wi-Fi, reminders, trackers, spreadsheets, algorithms, food logs, live journals, synced devices, pedometers, GPS, and finally, the “sharing” abilities of Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Flicker, Google+, and Instagram???

You may already assume that I’m just being an old-school cynic who is simply afraid of technology ruining “the good ol’ days,” BUT please hold off on those assumptions as I am sincere in saying: Science, technology, and lifelogging lie at the heart of what saved my life.

Lifelogging Methods Can Change Lives

Lifelogging methods such as self-tracking and self-experimentation allowed me to take control of my failing brain and increasing weight to transform myself into a high performing successful Silicon Valley investor, computer security expert, and senior executive. I spent 15 years and $250,000 to hack my own biology. I upgraded my brain more than 20 IQ points, lowered my biological age, and lost 100 lbs without using calories or exercise.

No, this isn’t about opportunities to boast about myself, nor is this about trying to sell you anything. My transformation is real and perfectly replicable for anyone who has the right information, tools, and guidance. Through the Bulletproof Executive Blog I have made it my quest to share as much science and expert guidance as possible with all of those yearning to better their personal performance and become “Bulletproof.”

[Bulletproof (adj.): The state of high performance where you take control of and improve your body, and your mind so they work in unison. In order to help you out perform without burning out, getting sick, or just acting like a stressed-out jerk.

One of the primary tools in being Bulletproof is the ability to self-experiment and track changes so you can see what works for you. Self-experimentation is key to fine-tuning your performance, optimizing your nutrition and sharpening your mind. Being able to measure, track, and organize the data from your self-experimentations is imperative for your own success and extremely helpful for sharing your experiences with others.

5 Self-tracking Tips

Whether your intentions are to quit a bad habit, lose weight, or simply reflect on life experiences, here are a few things to consider when self-tracking:

• In gathering and analyzing a lot of data, always remember that how you are feeling is the most important data point to consider at the end of the day.
• The act of logging data, actions, behaviors, etc. can in and of itself be powerful enough to change behaviors.
• Make sure you are consistently logging the data for a predetermined amount of time before you jump into analyzing what is or isn’t working and too hastily changing your strategies or plan. Give your plan some time to accumulate a decent amount of data before deciding to either kick it to the curb or deem it your golden ticket to heaven.
• What good is data if you don’t use it?! If you’re going through the efforts to self-track and log every meal you ate or every picture you took, then at least do yourself the favor of looking back on the data to identify notable patterns, pitfalls, or successes to improve or build upon.
• Beware of self-tracking tools that require a lot of time and effort. Avoid falling into a trap of tracking more than you’re living.

Recommended Self-tracking Tools

The Memoto lifelogging camera is a top-notch self-tracking tool in terms of being effortless for cataloging and sharing photos. To increase performance and health, the following self-tracking tools are highly recommended:

• HeartMath EmWave2 – An innovative biofeedback device that trains you to change your heart rhythm pattern (HRV training) to improve communication between the heart and the brain. This creates a state of “coherence,” also known as being “in the zone.”
• HeartMath Inner Balance Sensor for IOS – A highly innovative biofeedback app that allows you to easily self-monitor yourself into “the zone” of heart, breath, and brain coherence. Studies show this method reducing the negative effects of stress, improving relaxation, and build resilience against depression, anxiety, and hypertension
• Upgraded focus Brain Trainer – A newly released biofeedback tool that teaches your brain to focus better. This is a shockingly easy to use, high speed, commercially available, near infrared, hemoencephalogography device (nIR HEG for short) feedback system. It uses a headband to measure the flow of blood in your brain so you can use real time feedback to quickly increase blood flow to the most evolved part of your brain that handles executive functions such as focused attention, organization/planning, decision making, working memory, emotional regulation, control of mood, behavior, inhibition and motivation.

These self-tracking tools can be found at UpgradeSelf.com. To learn more about how to supercharge your body, upgrade your brain, and be Bulletproof visit Bulletproofexec.com.

Interested in learning more about Lifelogging? Visit http://lifeloggersmovie.com for more information.