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Work Journaling
Toward the tail end of last year, I started keeping a work journal. For as long as I can remember I’ve always maintained a journal about my personal experiences, but a work journal is a new endeavor for me. I started a work journal for three reasons. First, I want to be more deliberate about documenting things I learn from others within my firm and within my industry. Second, I want to develop a set of principles to follow when I encounter circumstances in the future that are similar to circumstances I face in the present. Lastly, I want to pass along what I learn to others who come behind me so they have a head start in whatever they’re endeavoring to do.
I first started journaling after I graduated college and entered adulthood in May 2005. I mark my entry into adulthood (i.e., the real world) as the day I could no longer wear pajama pants outside because I was no longer going to an on-campus class. I was now going to work. My first journal entry as an adult was on September 15, 2005, and it was titled “Goals for the next four months.” My wife and I had just moved to Chicago, so my top goal was to ‘build new friendships’ followed by a slew of other items including ‘start a side business,’ ‘participate in an investment club,’ ‘make a 20% profit in my brokerage account,’ ‘take drum lessons,’ and ‘start a scholarship fund for my high school.’ I had a lot of things to get done in four months! LOL.
