The accumulating axis
Everything received and recorded. The axis on which the system keeps a memory of itself — measurements, observations, logs — accumulating sideways to action.
Orientation
Data is what is received and recorded. Sensory inputs taken in, measurements logged from instruments, observations written down — all of it counts. Data accumulates indefinitely, points backward or sideways in time, and feeds back into the beliefs and decisions that shape what comes next.
It cuts across the hierarchy rather than sitting within it. A sleep log belongs to the Health area; a workout to a fitness project; a transaction to a financial goal. Data is the system's memory of itself, gathered alongside acting rather than instead of it.
It is not knowledge — that is data processed and structured. It is not action — though data is often the record of an action, the action is the doing and the data is the trace left behind.
Two tiers
Data domains split into two tiers, based on how much they have earned a place in the system. The split keeps the lightweight things light and the heavy things proper.
Simple, ad-hoc data — a number, a label, a date — created without touching the schema. Trackers can come and go as curiosity does. Best for metrics that are personal, fluid, or not yet committed to long-term.
Examples
Mood scores, water intake, a daily one-to-ten rating, arbitrary personal metrics.
Core life domains committed to for the long term, with rich or relational structure that a generic store would handle poorly. Each domain earns its own schema when its complexity warrants it — diet outgrows a simple tracker the moment barcodes and nutrition enter the picture; exercise the moment programmes and progressive overload do.
Examples
Sleep (implemented today), with exercise, diet, and finances planned as their own domains.