How to Use Your Work Notes for Continuous Improvement and Achievements

Continuous Improvement with 'What Went Well'

• 💡 The "What Went Well and Take a Look At" (WWaTLA) process, also known as a hot wash or after-action review, is a method for optimizing activities.
• 🎯 This technique can be applied to projects, customer calls, sales pitches, meetings, coding tasks, giving feedback, presentations, and even weekly planning.
• ✍️ The process involves dividing a page into two columns: "What Went Well" for successes and "Take a Look At" for areas needing improvement or further investigation.
• 🚀 Specificity is key; instead of noting "the demo went well," detail why, such as "practiced transitions between features three times beforehand."
• ⚠️ Similarly, be specific about issues, e.g., "the client seemed confused during the pricing section," to identify concrete areas for improvement.

Driving Actions and Follow-Ups from Notes

• 📌 Meeting notes should be used to manage and track tasks, ensuring actions, follow-ups, and decisions are clearly documented.
• 🗓️ After each meeting, review notes for actions, follow-ups, and decisions, and transfer them to your task management system or calendar.
• 📝 Vague notes like "John will send the proposal" are less effective than specific ones like "John is sending the updated pricing proposal to Maria by Thursday."
• 🔍 Phrases like "look into" are ambiguous; clarify what action is needed, such as research, call, analyze, or test.
• 💻 While digital systems are useful, handwriting notes can aid memory and recall due to the physical association with the information.

Recording Achievements for Growth and Recognition

• ✨ Maintain an achievements log by documenting completed projects, solved problems, and positive feedback immediately, noting the specific actions and their impact.
• 📈 Quantifiable achievements, like "Redesigned the intake process by reducing processing time by 37%," are more impactful than general statements.
• 📄 For performance reviews and resumes, record specific feedback verbatim, such as "This is the best presentation I've seen in my 15 years at this company," or documented cost savings.
• 📊 Tracking baseline metrics and documenting final results provides data-driven evidence of your contributions.
• 🌱 Documenting improvements over time, even small ones, demonstrates professional growth and commitment to excellence, providing a valuable record for self-reflection and career advancement.