The best way to end every work day

If you’re ambitious and self-starting then this new habit is for you. It will only take 5 minutes each day and it’s probably something you’re already familiar with: writing a diary. But this diary is different; It’s a journal of your career and a place to log notes on your successes, challenges, ideas and mindset.

You may be asking yourself, “Okay, but how does this benefit me and fast-track my career?” Close your eyes and now list the five tasks that you most enjoyed working on last month. Hard to remember, isn’t it! By logging your observations each day, you can keep an accurate record of what inspires and motivates you in order to help inform all your important career decisions and objective settings.

How to write a work journal.

• To get started, I suggest drawing a quick template in a notepad or word document. Draw two columns and title one: Engaging and the other: Draining. Then, write the days of the week in rows below.
• At the end of each work day, pull out your journal and write a few bullet points under each column related to the day you’ve just had. Be sure to question and identify the reason why this task or project made you feel this way. It could be something to do with the environment you were in, people you were working with or the nature of the task itself.
• Every few weeks, take a look over your notes and highlight any common themes. You should also consider any ideas or opportunities you have to propel your development. These are priceless little nuggets of wisdom that you’ll be so glad you have next time your review period comes around!