You may have a collection of notes, letters and journal entries you’ve recorded over the years documenting all of the personal happenings throughout your life. Sometimes we do this to blow off steam or to create a memory we can look back on to someday laugh at or see how far we’ve come.
Keeping a professional daily diary of your work is an excellent way to keep track of your progress as an individual and as a professional. Plus, keeping a running log of your accomplishments and short comings will serve as a great training tool for the next person to come behind you and fill your shoes. Maybe, when your performance review roles around, you can pull out your day-by-day recordings of your work and really impress an employer.
My challenge to you this new year is to start a work log. Before you shut your laptop and grab your keys each day to head home, take a few minutes to jot down what you did at work from the mundane to the extraordinary. Include lessons you’ve learned and mistakes you’ve made. You will find that recording these notes create a platform from which you can learn from yourself unlike every before.