Concrete Experience

Over the past two weeks, my focus has been on automation and learning strategies to improve my workflow. I experimented with tools like trigger.dev and n8n.io but ended up focusing on automating my journaling process and integrating spaced repetition into my learning.
I also explored ways to use LLMs to help with automation and simplifying reflective practices.
Additionally, I worked on improving my sleep habits, recognizing that quality sleep is essential for better cognitive function and overall learning performance.
Throughout this time, I felt both excited and challenged, as some tasks required deep focus, while others felt like I was falling into time-consuming rabbit holes.

Reflective Observation

Looking back, I realize the importance of having a structured approach to learning automation and reducing friction in my daily tasks. Implementing spaced repetition has improved my retention, and focusing on sleep has significantly enhanced my mental clarity and social interactions.
I also recognized the pitfalls of overworking without setting clear limits. This self-study helped me identify the areas where my study habits are effective and where they need improvement, such as the tendency to get sidetracked by minor things that result in me wasting time on unimportant things.

The experience has reinforced the value of automating repetitive tasks, but it also taught me that not everything needs to be automated right away. Instead, taking some time to reflect and pinpoint what really needs to be automated was the better long-term act. My desire to automate everything without clearly understanding the core problems led to wasted time. To help overcome these flaws, I will be focusing more on clearly defining problems before diving into solutions.
On the positive side, I succeeded in refining my sleep schedule (towards the end) and implementing spaced repetition for studying, which was crucial in my Haskell midterm preparation. However, I need to rework my approach to automation by The balance between reflection and action needs further tuning.

Moving forward, I plan to continue working on the journal automation that uses realtime speech to speech to help reduce the barrier for me to journal and reflect on my day before I sleep. I’ll continue to leverage LLMs as assistants, especially for self-testing and feedback. I’ll also experiment more with sleep tracking to see how further improvements in sleep quality impact my learning, productivity, and social presence.

Extremely glad I took my study plan seriously. The effects of what I’ve learned from this experience will continue to ripple out for the rest of my university experience and what comes after.