7 Inspirational Data Visualizations to Take You from Monday-Sunday

Starting a new work week can be challenging. Monday is tough, Wednesday gets you over the hump, Thursday feels like it should be Friday, and Sunday is a slow lead up to Monday. It’s easy to get caught up and overwhelmed with long to-do lists, stacks of paperwork, and never-ending spreadsheets.

You may need more than one day during the week for your #MondayMotivation, so we collected seven awesome data visualizations to get you through with a burst of creativity, inspiration, and peace of mind.

Monday: A Day in the Life of Americans 

When you wake up for work Monday morning, all you want to know is that you aren’t alone. Flowing Data looked at microdata from the American Time Use Survey, which asked thousands of people what they did during a 24-hour period.

Each dot represents a person, color represents the activity, and time of day is shown on the top left. As someone changes an activity, say from sleep to a morning commute, the dot moves accordingly. Explore the interactive version.

Tuesday: Too Late to Learn?

It’s nice to remember it is never too late to learn something new! Turns out, some of the most successful people were late bloomers. Martha Stewart didn’t start decorating homes until the age of 35, and Vincent Van Gogh didn’t start painting until his late 20’s. 

Wednesday: The Impact of Vaccines

The Wall Street Journal’s vaccine heat maps offer proof that dedication and creativity really can change the world. The number of infected people, measured over 70-some years and across all 50 states and the District of Columbia, generally declined after vaccines were introduced.

Thursday: The Daily Routines of Famous Creative People

We all put our pants on one leg at a time. The only difference is, once dressed, some of us make scientific discoveries, write world-famous novels, and compose beautiful music. Here is a stacked bar chart showing you just how some of the most creative minds spend their days. Click the image below for the full interactive list.

Friday: Dear Data

Friday deserves a little fun mixed with hard work. Award-winning data visualization project ‘Dear Data’ is the perfect blend of the two. Each week, for a year, Giorgia Lupi and Stefanie Posavec collected and measured data about their lives.

Then they created hand-drawn data visualization postcards which they mailed to each other – changing their lives forever. They even turned it into a book – get it here.

Saturday: The World’s Greatest Storytellers

Saturday is a time to meet up with friends and family, swapping stories from throughout the week. The greatest storytellers of all time are a diverse group of artists, politicians, writers, and business professionals. Find out which storytellers came out on top in a recent survey, from William Shakespeare to J.K. Rowling. 

Sunday: Google’s Big Picture Group

Lazy Sundays are perfect for reading. The Big Picture Group explores how information visualization can make complex data accessible, useful, and even fun. Click here for a list of their public work, including our personal favorite – the Google Music Timeline.

We hope these examples have eased your stress and helped you blast through the week. Are you feeling inspired to make data visualizations of your own? Infogram makes it easy to design charts and infographics with just a few clicks. See for yourself!