Why You Need to Be Your Own Data Analyst: Finding Consistency Using Boxplot
We all have bahaviours that we all want to add our daily routine. From drinking more water to waking up earlier, from exercising more to eating healtier. The list goes on and on…We think that if we add that habit(s), we would be happier.
Let’s say you’ve decided your goal and added it to your life with that initial motivation. Everything is fine you’ve done a great job even in the very first week. But, in the second week, you had some setbacks. You’ve missed some of the days. Lost your motivation. Your inner voice that judges thyself rose: You’re always like that anyways.
Let me change your (and also my) point of view. And I will try to describe its relationship with boxplot!
Let’s start with the main question?
What is boxplot? And why the data analysts love it!
A box plot, also known as a box-and-whisker plot, is a graphical representation of a dataset that provides a visual summary of its distribution. It displays the potential outliers!
The upper and lower limits are the maximum and minimum values within a certain range considered as “non-outliers.”
These limits are used to identify potential outliers in the dataset. Values outside the limits are plotted individually as points (outliers) beyond the whiskers.
The upper and lower limits in a box plot are often defined using the following formulas:
- Lower Limit: Q1 — (1.5 * IQR)
- Upper Limit: Q3 + (1.5 * IQR)
These formulas establish a threshold for identifying data points that could be regarded as outliers.
With boxplot you’ll have a visual as following:
Your aim would be to stay inside the boxes. If you want to place a habit in your life permanently, you should try not to fall below especially the lower limit.
For example, you want to read more. Set an upper and lower limit to yourself.
For example, reading 100 pages may be your upper limit and reading 1 page may be your lower limit. If you read more than 100 pages, then this would mean you’ve done an excellent job and your “reading record data” on that day becomes an outlier! On the contrary, if you read nothing, oopsie, then your “reading record data” is now even smaller than your lower limit. It becomes an outlier. But, not in a good way.
Moreover, you have now broken your consistency chain.
Some days, we may be busier than usual, or you may be tired than usual. Therefore, we may not reach your goal. So, instead of setting strict goals, like I am going to read for an hour every day, we may rephrase our goals and we may put a range, an upper limit, and a lower limit.
The key goal is: we may need to make an effort to not to fall below the lower limit.
Being an outlier may be sound more interesting and tempting, but I think that when it comes to our behaviours trying to stay inside the boxes is better than being an outlier! It prevents us from the potential burnouts and in this way, we would establish a more consistent systems.
I hope you have enjoyed reading!
Happy analysis everyone!
PS. If you would like to read more contents like this , you may subscribe my medium account -> https://medium.com/@meliss85
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