What did I learn today?

This short exercise will help you realize something about today that will help you tomorrow.

Write out everything you did today.
Ask yourself what you learned from your actions.

What did I do?

1. went to bed at 4am
2. got up at 11am
3. took a shower
4. made a to-do list
5. walked to the University Center and discovered there was an event on the green
6. had breakfast with David
7. talked to Erica about Spree Day
8. went to the event on the green, the Cultural Bazzaar, sponsored by the Office of Intercultural Affairs
9. saw Johnna, Haley, Elena C.
10. played outside while at the event, spending time with Eva, Jo, George, Kim, Chuck, and Jenna, Elena S.
11. met two of Eva's friends
12. said goodbye to people
13. walked to Bullock
14. got ready for a haircut
15. walked to the barber shop
16. shaved my head
17. went back to Bullock
18. showered and changed to something that fit my new look
19. had dinner with Liz in the Bistro
20. walked around campus with Liz, visited the house, got stalked by Connor the cat
21. came back to Bullock took a nap
22. visited Wright Hall, waited outside for five minutes
23. met with Garrett
24. chilled with Naomi M.
25. ran into Naomi V. and amy on my way out
26. headed back to my room
27. washed dishes
28. ate mac and cheesechilled in Sam's room
29. blogged

What did I learn?

• Wake up early to get the most out of the day
  Waking at 8am or earlier is a great way to get things done. There are fewer distractions and you can get larger tasks out of the way and off of your mind.
• Set times for your to do list and set priorities
  Without clear goals for your task list, you could easily put off doing everything indefinitely. The value of clarifying what you do is that it becomes easier to do and you are more likely to do it. Some important aspects to your tasks are the priority, the amount of time it will take, and what you need in order to do it. By establishing one specific task to focus on, you are sure to get it done without procrastination.
• Put limits on time spent wandering
  Be specific about what you are spending your time on. It is easy, especially with nice whether, to let the day slip past lazily. However, it is very important to consider what is being sacrificed by just wandering throughout your day. You will have a hard time completing your task list, and you will cause yourself unnecessary stress from realizing you should be working to achieve something.
• Choose who to spend time with carefully
  It can be hard to balance a social life with life so be concious about it. The more people you split your time between, the less time you will have with each person. You will also have less time for other things that are important to you such as reading, academics, or other tasks.
• Writing helps jog the memory
  By writing down your thoughts you can improve your understanding of their content. Making a list builds connections between list items. Think about what happens when you write something down. You think about it, you feel yourself write it, and you see what you have written. Use sensation to improve comprehension. Writing out what you did in a day will help you better prepare for the next day. Writing out what you do every day can improve your life.