Why I Keep a Log

Published: February 20, 2026

Idea Date: June 1, 2025

Prior to college, I had shepherds in my life. Parents, an older brother, friends, and a multitude of amazing educators that herded me into order. My days were structured with class, meals, music, and sports. And if I didn’t show up to anything, someone barked at me for it.

So for a long time, I believed I was an independent, self-driven actor.

Though when I began college, without those shepherds, my good habits spun out the window. Now I’m free ranged, and no one held me accountable. No more rigid structure, I skipped class, chose a weaker exercise regimen, and chose my sleep schedule. Freedom meant following my every desire.

That felt empty.

Then I drifted to research my Freshman spring. I hated going to class, but I loved coming to our lab. Under the guise of a “learning undergrad”, I jumped between tasks, and tinkered without finishing. The apparent busyness shadowed my emptiness for a while.

Now it’s Sophomore summer. 17 months into research, and I had no traceable results. I felt a sense of urgency — that I must no longer act like a headless fly bumping around in a large space with no idea of what’s important, what’s urgent, and there was definitely no accountability.

One afternoon, staring at my messy desk, I realized I had no clear record of what I’d built in 17 months. That afternoon, I began to write. I began meticulously writing a log of my daily activities. To hold myself accountable for my work. To have clarity of thought when working. To have transparency during collaboration. To keep all of my results traceable.

I start my day with a to-do list. I made creating the list itself a task. I sent this list to the team channel to impose accountability. If I write it down, it gets done.

Before starting, I separate what’s important from what’s urgent. They are not the same.

Important = high impact.
Urgent = pressing.

I found that when I stick to this plan, I’m no longer distracted by all the other tasks that need to be done. I’m focused on the current task, with clarity on what the next task will be. Strictly following the to-do list, I no longer bounce between different tasks.

I’m still learning to work without shepherds. Now, the log is how I herd myself.