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?
Image by Adulau
Edited 10/03/2010: corrected link
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… Read more »
“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/
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.
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.
I keep a small journal with me with for daily logs. It’s quite helpful. Nice article. Thank you.
Personally I use a pretty extensive system on my iPhone and an online manager. It’s call Toodledo which has a notes option, Toodledo is first a GTD which allows for you to get things done and keep it in order, but for project management notes I use the Notes version. This allows me to keep everything going efficiently and effectively.
Log Home,
Thank you for your comment. I have recently got a new mobile phone that enables me to sync with Outlook so I am experimenting with that. I have heard about Toodledo, but have not used it, perhaps I should have a look at it.
Do you want to manage a team or only for you. For one person OmniFocus is a good partner on Mac and iPhone.
Manuel,
Thank you for your comment. I am looking to manage myself and I will have a look at OmniFocus, although I do not have either a mac or iPhone.