Measuring Personal Progress
On occasions I share my opinion on what works for me. One of my biggest challenges as a small business owner is feeling I accomplished something.
I personally have a bad habit to look forward and forget what I already accomplished. Once I complete a Project I don’t celebrate or much less analyze in detail what was accomplished.
I easily get lost in what I finished and might feel sometimes like I did not do enough.
Thinking this over a bit more I bumped into five things you can review to see what your efforts have created.
Trophies & Awards
Although I am not a big fan of awards or trophies they sometimes I know the value of how they mark a major accomplishment. For example as I moved months ago I found certificates, pictures, trophies, and awards that I had received on many successful projects I had forgotten about.
Even the biggest trophy I earned when I was 14 years old and played basketball served as a reminder of the full season I practiced with a team and played basketball. We ended being League sub-champions (there where only 4 teams) it brought memories of the small things I learned and people I met playing for basketball that season.
Books
I have a deep connection with books even my oldest ones like my how to groom dogs book is something I treasure. As I ran my dog grooming business while being a teenager I used those books to make sure I was taking care of each animal breed accordingly.
As I gave away, donated, and organized the books that where left I realized how much time and effort I had put into reading and understanding the stories and lessons others had shared in their books.
Blog Posts
I lost track of the content I created for the many websites I built since 1997 to present. But writing has been something I have done more seriously the past few years. I find it meditative especially when I am disciplined enough to do my Morning Pages every day.
If I sit back and count the many blog posts I have written for this blog and the many others, I quickly realize that I have spent many hours in creating content that helps me improve my writing skills.
Pictures
Photography is something I have always admired. As I plan to buy a DSLR and until that moment happens my iPhone 5 and Ricoh CX2 Point and shoot camera help me capture what I see.
My first digital camera was a Sony Mavica; with that camera I started capturing many moments in my life that I would have forgotten about if I did not keep digital copies of those moments. Special moments in my life like when I was on Humanitarian Missions with the U.S. Army in Central America from photos of when I was a Bartender while being a college student. Those moments captured in pictures serve as neat reminders of the many past experiences I have had.
These 4 types of items can help you break down and help you measure what you have accomplished in the past. These reminders help us to stay focus when engaging and attacking new challenges with a better attitude.
Feeling you accomplished something is a great feeling that fuels us in our next efforts and projects.
How do you measure and document your body of work?