One log or many?

The rule of thumb

Things that share a schema and are compared with each other belong in one log with a grouping variable. Things that have their own pace or their own schema get their own log, tied together with a tag.

A schema is the set of variables. If two things need the same fields, they are probably one log.

One log, grouping variable

Mark one text variable as tracked individually and every distinct value gets its own stats: count, averages, last logged.

• Workouts: one log, “Exercise” grouped. Bench and squat get separate maxes.
• Plants: one log, “Plant” grouped. Each plant shows its last watering.
• Symptoms: one log, “Symptom” grouped. Headaches and stomach pain counted apart.
• Cafés, species, courses, pieces: the same pattern.

Rounds inside an entry

When one session naturally contains several of the grouped thing, turn on rounds. A workout has several exercises; a practice session has several pieces; a birding walk has several species. Each round carries its own values and the grouping stats read across all of them. Turn rounds off for logs where an entry is one thing, like a dive or a blood pressure reading.

Several logs, one tag

Books are the classic case: each has its own length and pace, and finishing one should not blend into the next. One log per book, all tagged “books”, and the overview filter shows the shelf. The same goes for a sleep log and a caffeine log tagged “health”: different schemas, related questions, read side by side.

When you got it wrong

You will. Variables can be added or renamed in log settings at any time, and a tag is one word. The only thing worth deciding early is the grouping variable, because the per-value stats are built on it. Everything else can be fixed on a Sunday.