Why I Started Tracking Everything I Watch, Read, and Play

Six months ago I realized I’d forgotten the name of a book someone recommended at a dinner party. Not just the title—the entire conversation about it. That’s when I started tracking everything.

The Problem Nobody Talks About

We consume an absurd amount of media. Between streaming services, podcasts, games, and books, the average person encounters hundreds of titles a year. And we lose track of almost all of them.

I’d finish a great show and think “I need to tell Sarah about this.” Then a week later, I couldn’t remember which show I was thinking of. Or I’d see a movie poster and think “didn’t someone say this was good?” with zero context about who said it or why.

This isn’t a technology problem. We have more tracking tools than ever. It’s a fragmentation problem. My movies are in one app, books in another, games somewhere else. Nothing talks to nothing.

What Changed When I Tracked Everything

I picked one place to put everything. Movies, shows, books, games, anime—if I consumed it, it went on a list. Not detailed logging. Not reviews. Just “I watched this and here’s what I thought about it.”

The difference was immediate. I could actually recommend things to people. Not vague “oh you should watch that one show” but specific, curated lists that made sense. My friends started asking me for recommendations instead of scrolling aimlessly on Netflix.

The Unexpected Benefit

The thing nobody tells you about tracking your media is that you learn your own taste. I thought I was into sci-fi. Turns out I mostly watch character-driven dramas that happen to have spaceships. I thought I read widely. Turns out I read the same three genres in different packaging.

Tracking made my preferences visible to myself. And that made it easier to find new stuff I’d actually enjoy instead of bouncing off recommendations that technically matched my “genre” but didn’t match my actual taste.

How I Actually Do It

I don’t spend hours logging every detail. Here’s my actual process:

1. When I finish something, I add it to the appropriate list on Fanakin
2. I give it a quick note—“great ending” or “slow middle but worth it”
3. I tag it by mood or theme, not genre
4. When someone asks for a recommendation, I pull up the right list

That’s it. Takes maybe 30 seconds per item. And the payoff is enormous—I actually remember what I’ve watched, read, and played. I can share specific recommendations. I know what I like.

The List That Changed Everything

The real magic happened when I started making mixed-media lists. My “cozy autumn” list has 3 movies, 2 TV shows, 4 books, and a game. My “mind-bending sci-fi” list spans every medium. These cross-media recommendation lists are the thing no single-purpose tracker can do.

That’s actually why I built Fanakin. Not because the world needed another tracker, but because I wanted one place where all my media lived together. Where my movie recommendations could include the book that inspired the film. Where my game list could include the anime I watched between sessions.

Try It Yourself

Pick one week and track everything you consume. Just the titles—no reviews, no ratings, no pressure. See what happens when you can actually remember what you watched last month.

If you want a place to put it all, Fanakin is free. Create lists, organize by whatever makes sense to you, and share the ones worth sharing. The hardest part isn’t the tracking—it’s starting.