Why I log

On my walk with Reuben today, we enjoyed great weather and good conversation. The temperature is just below sixty, with sun and breeze. The kind of walking environment where you don't comeback sweaty and you don't need a coat. Perfect for a brisk pace out of the lot and along Evergreen. Today we talked about one of my favorite things, getting things done and specifically about logging.

This is one of those things people don't understand. Many people don't know that I log and many of those that know I do, don't know why. They conceive of doing it themselves and conclude it is a waste of time, or frustrating, or silly. Some might think it is too OCD for them, but figure that explains why I would do it.

Reuben and I have talked about logging before, but he is struggling with the time it takes to document what it is you are doing and when you do it. Putting the start time down and the activity before he starts doing it is draining to him. Too much time. It seems like waste.

So, we talk about blood pressure cuffs, and invention which proceeded all the preventions we have for high blood pressure. In the breeze of the day, we talk about how the cuff doesn't cause or prevent high blood pressure, but it let's you see, in the moment, what is going on. We talk about how log is part blood pressure cuff, it doesn't have to make you more or less efficient, but it will show you the time you are wasting in your day. It highlights what you are actually prioritizing with your time.

If you log after your activities the usefulness of a log ends there, but it doesn't have to. Simply having a record of your distractions is not going to make you a better employee, father or husband. It might show why you didn't get your bible reading done, but won't do anything to help.

We talk, Reuben and I, about shifting from catching problems after the fact to preventing them before they happen. Better than rework is doing it right the first time. We talk about logging each item before you start, how it becomes like staking out that time for specific purpose. Controlling the day, rather than letting the day control you.

This is why I log. If left to my own devices I will wonder from thing to thing, but not get the things done I need to get done. Before I started logging I was a good,hard working, but inefficient employee. I wasn't completing things, my email was a struggle to keep on top of, or it would swallow a whole day. The items on my to do list, a tool I used before logging, kept getting pushed back. Something happens though, when you write 8:00 Morning Reports. You devote that time to the reports you need to get done. Off the to do list. 9:00 inbox Zero. You work until you gave no e-mail unaddressed. I could see the success. I could do more in the same amount of time.

Admittedly, I am probably the odd one. I have a couple accountability partners who both recognize the value of logging, but struggle to keep with it. Can't quite form the habit. Reuben will be on his forth attempt at it tomorrow. I have logged every workday, and a good number of weekends, for more than a year and I love it, or rather love what it produces.