I’m heading into my 8th year of using my roundup tool at the end of each month and I can say without any hesitation that it has been the single most useful memory keeping tool I’ve ever used! All you need to do is to answer a few questions at the end of each month. Jot down your answers on a blog, in a journal, or in a word document – whatever works for you. Don’t worry if you miss a month, you can start again at any time. Of course, the more months you do your roundup, the more you will have to refer back to. Before you know it, you will have a monthly index to help you reference your own life!
I love to look back through my past roundups. You can find a complete index of all 84 of my previous roundups – yes, 84 of them to date!!!
- What reading/learning did I do this month? (books, blogs, magazines, ebooks, podcasts, classes, etc.)
- What entertainment did I watch/listen to this month? (movies, tv shows, plays, music, concerts, etc.)
- What fun things did I do with my family and/or friends?
- What gifts did I give and/or receive?
- What special or unusual purchases did I make?
- What illnesses or health concerns did I have?
- What were my accomplishments this month?
- What were my disappointments this month?
- How did I do on my goals for the month? (Or any current short or long term goals)
- Anything else noteworthy to include?
These are the 10 questions that I use as prompts for each roundup. I don’t always answer every single question, but I find that they help me explore and record the memories of the past month in a simple and concise way.
Sometimes I answer the roundup questions with a bullet list, and other times I may write a paragraph or even more explaining the events that occurred. There is no “right” or “wrong” way to do a roundup, just try to include as much detail as you want to remember. You can add more questions if you want or you can choose to answer only a few, feel free to customize this tool to best meet your needs.
If you want a little roundup pride badge (I love badges!) to display on your own roundup post, feel free to copy and paste this one. I'd also love it if you would link back to this post or my blog when you share your roundup so people know where to find the idea.
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