I wouldn't be too hard on yourself. There are a lot of adult hunters with years of 'experience' that really have no clue what they're doing each fall, especially when it comes to understanding deer behavior. Many think you should dump a pile of corn and sit over it...that will work if you're not picky about what you shoot (e.g. yearlings and dumb does), but since you're just starting out you might as well start learning as much as you can about deer behavior from the get-go.

So along these lines, the best thing you can do is learn about deer behavior, because you will get more out of yours scouting time if you know what you're looking at (and looking for). I'll strongly second the suggestions to read some of the Eberharts' books. They're largely geared towards bow hunting, but the lessons on deer behavior and hunting tactics apply fairly well to gun hunting.

Bottom line is that none of us knows everything there is to know about deer hunting, so talking to other hunters and doing your reading is always a plus.