journal

A while back I shared my experience recording observations on events I'd like to have done differently (Some thoughts from tracking "lessons learned" for a year). Here I want to tell you about a corresponding idea, tracking the decisions you make. The connection? Writing what you decide, including the reasons and expected outcome, strengthens the process of learning, and should ultimately teach you something about yourself.

This idea is expressed elegantly in a terrific 1997 Inc.com article by Peter Drucker: My Life as a Knowledge Worker. In it he shares seven major experiences he'd learned from his teachers:

1. Strive for perfection throughout life (even though it would surely elude)...
2. ... and do it "even if only the gods notice."

I want to share the results of a little experiment I did over the last few months using my My Big-Arse Text File. I've been using this semi-structured text file to track my consulting activities for the past two years, and it contains a mixture of things like:

• consulting activities,
• networking connections [1],
• lessons learned (see Some thoughts from tracking "lessons learned" for a year),
• contact information,
• idea capture (see Pickle jars, text files, and creative idea capture),
• book notes (see How to read a lot of books in a short time),
• blog topics,