I don’t tend to keep track of my daily movements for a variety of reasons. The biggest of these is that one day in Grinnell is rarely much different from a handful or more other days, and those that are I don’t always want to remember.
The second reason I don’t track myself is the time required. Writing takes time, and I’m usually doing or recovering from doing.
Finally, as far as I can tell, most of the time I’m the only one who really cares what zany adventures I’ve gotten up to. Obviously my professors care if I show up to class 1, my coaches care that I show up to practice, and my friends and family care that I show up at prearranged times. Other than that, though, I really doubt that anyone cares whether I studied for three hours in Noyce or in Bucksbaum.
None of these apply to my time abroad. With no frame of reference, every day in London feels very different. So far I have far more free time than I know what to do with 2. Finally, I’ve had at least a few people mention that they want to know what I’m doing while abroad.
So, for those of you keeping track at home, that was 224 words to explain why I’m writing, but not addressing the title of how 3. I’m keeping track of my life in a plethora of ways. Like in Grinnell, I send the minutiae of my life to friends via various instant messaging platforms. Unlike in Grinnell, I update different social media far more frequently, I hope not to the annoyance of my friends there. I’m writing this daily journal 4. Finally, I’m maintaining a hybrid journal. That is, I’m writing a journal that is partially digital and partially analog. I’ll talk about the nitty gritty of that later, but it’s been probably the source I use most to record my days.