Building on your 2023 Accomplishments – The Importance of Keeping Your Success Diary Current
By: Patty Prosser
Let’s face it, we’re all busy! But are we making the time to take stock in what we are doing or accomplishing?
One of the clear ways to track what you have accomplished is by keeping a Success Diary. This practice of documenting your accomplishments can prove to be helpful in several ways. If you want to be recognized for your contributions or the value you bring to your role, you must track them no matter if they are big or small. Whether you successfully converted a prospect or delivered a key project before an important deadline, it’s important to make note of it – that way you don’t have to scramble when you are preparing for a discussion with your boss or for a review. It’s your responsibility, not your bosses, to track your contributions to the organization.
And if you’ve never done so before, it’s not too late to start tracking your successes! This practice is as simple as taking time, every day, to make a list of what you did that day that added value – in a Word document, in OneNote, or in a journal. Simply jot down your accomplishments as they happen and that way you won’t forget the small daily achievements, as well as the great big ones. This practice, once it becomes habit, can also encourage you to look ahead and to envision what else you might achieve.
There are other reasons to keep track of your accomplishments, as well. Successful people often keep a diary or journal to help them stay organized, focused, and reflective. Recording your thoughts, experiences, goals, and accomplishments can help you track your progress, identify patterns, and learn from your successes and failures. It can also serve as a tool for self-improvement, time management, and stress reduction. Additionally, a diary can provide a record of ideas, insights, and inspirations that may be valuable for future reference or creative projects.
A Success Diary can also serve as a valuable tool to help you organize your thoughts, reduce anxiety, and think about the choices and decisions you are making. By tracking your own narrative, it allows you to create and tell your story to develop a formula for understanding and analyzing achievements. It helps you make decisions about what’s really important to you and, if kept regularly, can be a valuable tool in your personal and professional development that can enhance your overall effectiveness.
This daily record, when frequently re-visited, may also cause you to think about when you need to shift what you are doing or pivot to take advantage of a new opportunity or to achieve greater satisfaction, and can also serve as a motivator when you need it. We all have moments when we need a little inspiration, and because you’ve made a record of what you’re achieving on a daily basis, you can reread the progress you have made and keep yourself on track toward achieving your goals. A Success Diary encourages you stop and reflect on what you’ve done and may be just the catalyst you need to keep going!
The Success Diary allows you to track your progress so that you can look back and celebrate the small wins with the big. It should be a consistent and high priority in your life!
For more information about this and other leadership topics, please visit The Center for Leadership Excellence website at www.cleindy.com or contact Patty Prosser, Coaching Practice Leader, at pprosser@cciindy.com or at 317-727-6464.