Ask advice: how to keep a project daily log
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For the whole of this week I am on a Prince2 project management training course, so over the last few weeks I’ve dutifully been doing the pre course reading. I’ve just finished the first day of the course.
One of the ideas that takes my fancy is the Project Manager’s Daily Log, however I’m struggling to think how I would implement it. Its purpose is described as
“to record required actions or significant events not caught by other PRINCE2 documents. It acts as the Project Manager’s or a Team Manager’s diary.”
My understanding so far is that it is a method of capturing information related to the project, such as conversations with team members, customers etc. However, it also seems to be a reminder of things that need to be done in the future such as reviewing the status of actions that are meant to be completed. In this second aspect it seems to be almost like a tickler file by acting as a trigger to do something.
I think a daily log like this could be very beneficial, but I’m not sure how I should implement it because I can’t see how the above two points fit well together and how would it differ from my task list. Should I have one book for each project I manage, or one covering all projects?
So my questions are; do you keep a daily log? Do you find it useful? what format do you use?
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I keep a log. The to-do list is a plan for the future, while the log is a record of the past.
I use a Moleskine marked with page numbers for both of these. The list is, well, a list. But the log is open-ended.
When something log-worthy happens, I write the date and time on the left hand side of the page, and put a “heading” on the right hand side. The heading is very simple and underlined, usually someone’s name, or the name of a committee. Then I just take notes.
When I’m between things (such as waiting for something to begin) I thumb through the book/log and enter any headings that matter in the front of the book as an index.
I put a little box next to to-do items that happen as a result of the conversation/meeting/research, and an asterix next to any action items that I’ve promised to deliver. The rest is just notes.
So, if I make or receive a call from Mr.X, I’ll write
July 28th, 2008 at 8:40 pm
“High achievement generally goes hand-in-hand with good time management skills, and time logs are a great way to track your time usage and eliminate time drains. Learn more on how to use them and achieve higher productivity.”
This is an excerpt from an upcoming article at Whakate.com. The article provides useful info on working with a time log as well as links and other sources related to the subject.
http://www.whakate.com/readerinformation/upcoming-work-with-a-time-log/
August 3rd, 2008 at 9:19 am
Juggling Frogs,
Thank you for the advice, I found it very encouraging to starting my own book. I’ve kept it for about a week so far and I’m already finding it useful as a store of information. However I suspect I’m writing in too much detail at the moment, but I suspect as I get used to writing the log I will know what is worth recording and what isn’t.
August 14th, 2008 at 12:20 pm
Shari,
Thank you for the information about your upcoming article. I already subscribe to Whakate so I look forward to reading it.
I am already finding keeping a daily log is useful to help me review what I’ve achieved in a day, particularly all the things I was not intending to do.
August 14th, 2008 at 12:23 pm