The Benefits Of A Work Journal

The classic to-do list can be useful tool to facilitate productivity, but it’s not without shortcomings.

For instance, assignments on your list may involve a series of interconnected tasks, or require multiple steps that you can’t easily describe in list format. Sometimes in the midst of carrying out one duty, you’ll identify other issues that require attention, but which you don’t necessarily have time for right now. Instead of crossing out items on your to-do list, you may find yourself modifying and even extending it as the hours march on.

For these reasons, you may find it useful to keep a work journal, to either supplement or substitute for your to-do list.

Self-awareness

By simply taking the time to write down your goals, lessons, and experiences you draw from each day, and any feelings or thoughts you have about them, you afford yourself a chance to troubleshoot, and engage your self-awareness and critical thinking skills.

Have you been avoiding, procrastinating over, or struggling with a task? If so, your difficulties may owe to an emotional obstacle, such as the fear of failure, an unwillingness to check your ego and ask for help, or confusion over the next steps in the process. Journalling forces you to put these barriers to success into words.

Paper or digital?

Of course, this is a matter of personal preference. A digital version offers the advantages of searchability and easy modifiability. A paper (book) version helps to reduce your daily screen time, and you won’t risk losing your journal entries due to a computer malfunction or virus.

Regardless of the medium you choose for your journal, organization is key: each entry should be clearly dated and easily retrievable. You may also benefit from headlining each entry with two or three main themes, for purposes of future reference. For example, “Order confirmation for Mrs. Jafari; keyboard shortcuts”.

Honesty and confidentiality

Like a personal diary, your work journal should be a safe forum for you to express thoughts and concerns related to your job, including the state of interpersonal relationships at the workplace. For this reason, confidentiality is important.

If you believe there’s a risk that another person will discover your journal, and that this discovery may affect your relationships with colleagues or superiors, you’ll censor yourself. The more extensively you engage in self-censorship, the less meaningful your journalling will be to you, especially as the passage of time places distance between your present state of mind and the content of older entries.

Learning from experience

By writing down observations about your own performance, new information you encounter, and lessons you learn from day to day, you’ll stand a better chance of recalling those items when you need them. For example, if an IT technologist at the office shows you a nifty trick for accessing files on a database more quickly, your journal is a great place to record the steps involved. Journalling can also help you learn from your mistakes by noting both the specific details of an error, and the reason(s) why it occurred.

Consider making two daily entries.

A morning entry allows you to envision the day ahead, and draw up your game plan. A second, follow-up entry in the evening allows you to handicap your performance and hold yourself accountable.

Did you accomplish all of the goals you had set for that day? If not, why not? Did you exceed your own expectations? If so, what were the keys to your success?

The Virtue of Resiliency

There is a scene in the film Batman Begins (Christopher Nolan, 2005) in which the protagonist, Bruce Wayne, tumbles into a derelict well while attempting to hide from his best friend, Rachel. As he quickly discovers, the well connects to a vast network of caliginous caverns—and the subterranean realm happens to abound with the creatures Bruce fears most. Within seconds, a torrent of bats surrounds him, and the dread of the circumstances causes him to momentarily lose consciousness.

Fortunately, Bruce’s ordeal is short-lived; after Rachel alerts Bruce’s father to his son’s misadventure, Thomas Wayne descends into the well to rescue the youngster. Then, as he carries Bruce back to safety in the Wayne mansion, Thomas poses a rhetorical question:

“Why do we fall, Bruce? So that we can learn to pick ourselves back up again.”

The scene demonstrates two valuable principles: facing one’s fears, and recovering from adversity (i.e. resiliency). In fact, those challenges frequently go hand-in-hand—in order to depart from your comfort zone and take risks, you need to be confident in your ability to recuperate after setbacks. Part of that sense of self-assurance owes to preparedness (like ensuring you have adequate resources and alternatives in case of failure), and part of it is related to psychological and emotional strength.

Here is some advice to help you bounce back from mishaps, and overcome difficulties that may arise in the future:

•  When something goes wrong, try to learn from it.

You have undoubtedly heard the aphorism “Every cloud has a silver lining.” Similarly, many misfortunes entail opportunities for self-improvement, personal growth, and learning. When a particular situation in your life doesn’t turn out the way you would have liked, ask yourself how you would handle things differently if a similar experience presented itself again.

•  Acknowledge your strengths and weaknesses.

No one is perfect. By pretending to be an exception to that universal rule, you will only hinder your own personal growth. Instead, be honest with yourself and authentic with the people around you. When you make a mistake, acknowledge it and try to make up for it. When you succeed, don’t be afraid to take (a reasonable amount of) pride in your accomplishments.

•  Keep your problems in perspective, and be grateful for the good stuff.

We’ve all had bad days and trying experiences. But unless the earth has just been pulverized by a storm of asteroids or consumed by the sun in its fiery death throes, things could surely be worse.

One useful way to think about hard times, is to ask yourself whether the mishap of the moment will still matter in a year, or five years. For the majority of problems we face in our daily lives, the answer is no. In fact, some of today’s debacles may become tomorrow’s humorous anecdotes.

Finally, by appreciating and seeking consolation in the positive aspects of your life—including loved ones, past triumphs, and passions unrelated to your professional career—you will improve your chances of both handling adversity and bouncing back.

•  Practice generosity.

Generosity and involvement in charitable causes can increase self-esteem, and provide new and valuable perspective on life. Thus, although charity is often perceived as a sacrifice made by a giver on behalf of a recipient, in reality, the benefits of beneficence can be mutual.

More generally, by helping others in their time of need, we increase the likelihood that they will be willing to do the same for us.

           

•  Failure is not necessarily a step back.

Sometimes it is better to have tried and failed, than never to have tried at all. If you’ve endured a mishap, it may mean you’ve taken a risk and departed from your comfort zone—a precondition for any significant achievement.

You needn’t view occasional disappointments as the culmination of your efforts; instead, try to think of them as unfortunate but necessary steps along the path to success. If nothing else, adversity offers the opportunity to prove that you can navigate through hard times and come back stronger than before.

Overnight Success Doesn't Happen Overnight

The business marketplace is littered with so-called "overnight success" stories. Because we live in a microwave society, we want everything fast.

We want to lose weight in a weekend by taking a pill. We want to download everything in a blink of an eye. And we certainly don't want to wait for success.

Here are some truths about the overnight success phenomenon that you should think about the next time you hear one of these stories.

It is the exception, not the rule.

Do you seethe with envy every time you read about an overnight success story? One of the most popular is how Roxio, the makers of the app sensation Angry Birds went from zero to hero overnight.

Yes, it was a great success story and they probably never have to develop another game (but they will). However, the truth is Angry Birds was the 53rd game that this company created. That would be 52 other games that went through development, testing, marketing, implementation and lackluster sales.

Overnight success? Hardly.

Sure, a company can get fast results and see their profits soar in a short amount of time, but for the majority of businesses success can't be rushed.

You're hearing the hype.

It looks good for a company to promote themselves as an overnight sensation because we all like a winning story. It also makes for good press to have the Cinderella syndrome play out of someone being plucked from obscurity and plopped down in their dream life.

However, a little digging will reveal the truth behind the hype. Even the simple act of filing corporation papers takes time.

The reality is that a company's success is often built on a lot of past failures. Those failures might not all be related to that company but you can bet the board of director, the developers and the sales staff have had years of experience in the business world that lead them to this point in their careers.

In fact, if someone has worked for just five years prior to starting that company, they are bringing close to 10,000 hours of experience. So, any time you hear a story about an overnight success just ask yourself, "What are they leaving out?"

Being number one could blow up your company.

Under the heading "be careful what you wish for" comes the notion that a true overnight success might actually blow up your company. Imagine the potential success of a Super Bowl commercial.

Not only will literally a hundred million people see that spot play out but it could also go viral, bringing in millions of more viewers. If that business isn't ready for the onslaught of potential customers then their website could crash, their staff will revolt and they'll lose a lot of business.

Planning for success is just that: "planning."

That should mean being ready when it finally arrives.

5 Steps to Hiring Inexperienced Candidates

There is a first time for everything. That includes hiring someone to do a job.

If you're lucky, you can find an employee who is well versed with whatever type of task you want them to perform. However, there is often the opportunity to hire an exceptional employee who doesn't have any experience related to your business.

But is it crazy to hire someone without experience?

You might discover that training a new employee from "the ground up" is the best way to get what you want out of that worker. In other words, they're not going to be approaching the job with any bad habits or preconceptions. They are a blank slate. And that can certainly work to your advantage.

Here are five steps to consider when hiring an employee without relevant experience:

Spell out what is expected.

Depending on the job, there might be a training manual or "to do list" approach to the job. This should spell out specifically what is required of that employee. If you need to, create a guide for an employee. It's always better to travel with a map as opposed to just a destination.

Enhance the skillsets.

There is a reason that you're considering hiring a person without experience. They've impressed you with their attitude, prior successes and possibly related skillsets. It has often been said that a good sales person can sell anything. Just because you're selling cars, but are hiring a top vacuum cleaner sales person, doesn't mean you won't come out on top. Play to that person's strengths and build on that.

Consider their complete resume.

Someone without a lot of experience on their resume could have other areas where they have excelled. These unique experiences can indicate how they'll perform on your team. For instance, a person who has spent a lot of time doing charity work could be a natural fit for customer service. Someone who was in the military will understand how to follow orders and have discipline. When it comes to resumes, go deep!

Put them to the test.

Captain Kirk was famous for reprogramming a "no-win" scenario test. He got a commendation for original thinking. You should try to find a way to put your prospective hire to the same kind of test. This doesn't mean building a starship simulator, but you can probably come up with a challenging test to see how they might problem solve. The best result would have them asking for help instead of trying to do something on their own and failing.

Put them on probation.

You're taking a risk by hiring a new employee without experience. They should know that up front. There is nothing wrong with putting that employee on a probationary period. Just don't make it a double-secret probation. They should know they are being watched and their job is on the line. 

Tips for MBA's Seeking Work in Canada

It's not easy. There's a lot of competition out there, and every unemployed MBA, whether recent or not, is looking for a job. What's the best job search strategy?

Recruiters and career experts offer the same advice to job seekers. Analyze your strengths and focus on your interests. Being an all-around expert in everything will work against you. Have a clear-cut idea of how to best sell yourself. Also, while you're still in school, start making connections. Long before graduation is the time to start developing your network of contacts. Let the business world know who you are and what it can expect down the pipeline. You want business to be waiting for you.

Don't be overly picky. As small, temporary jobs and internships come your way, take them. Each job affords you additional experience and contacts, both of which are vital down the road.

Another avenue to follow is temporary contracts. With a growing number of entrepreneurs starting businesses in Canada, many are seeking business consultants to help them in their start-up ventures. However, while ideas abound, money doesn't. Many cannot afford to hire "top" consulting firms and would rather pay less for younger talent. While these contracts will rarely offer job security to a young MBA graduate, it will help establish credentials and afford opportunities to gain vital hands-on experience.

Current MBA graduates should be aware that patience would have its rewards. A large segment of today's senior management is at the front end of the baby boom generation. Many will be retiring over the next decade, making way for the next generation to make its mark on the business world. Therefore, the time is right for "the next generation" to gather experience and be ready and waiting for the opportunities that are just around the corner.

Incorporate in Canada with CorporationCentre.ca
Click. You're incorporated ®