This ONE habit will massively transform your career

Have you ever come face-to-face with a senior leader in your business, only for them to ask ‘what are you working on?’…and your mind goes blank?

Or have you started job-hunting… but when writing your CV, you can’t remember anything you have achieved in your past roles?

What about performance reviews… ever come to this stage of the year and struggled to explain what you have achieved?

If this is you, then there is ONE habit you need to form which will transform all of these situations and ACCELERATE your career.

Back when I worked for Apple, I used to do this ONE thing habitually. 

And I credit it with pushing my career forward and allowing me to articulate my success, both internally and externally of the business.

That one habit I call ‘Career Tracking’.

Here’s how it worked:

Every Friday I’d block out 30 mins in my diary. 

I’d either find a quiet corner of the office. Or I’d go to a local coffee shop.

I’d take a journal or a notebook (you can also use digital tracking tools like Notion)

And I’d use that time to reflect on the week.

In the journal I would write:

1. All projects I’m working on - what happened that week, what we achieved, my individual contribution and all stats and numbers related to the project
2. All meetings where something significant happened that I could learn from
3. All conversations and interactions with team mates and senior leaders that felt significant, including the exact details of what happened 

I would do this every week.

This journal became my bible. The most important document of my career.

How did I use it?

Performance Reviews

I could very quickly review the year and give real metrics and examples of what I had achieved. 

Plus, if I was trying to negotiate salary, this journal was my leverage to justify the ask.

Self-Promotion at Work

It’s important to make sure people know what you are working on and to give yourself visibility in the business. 

By journaling, my achievements were always front of mind - whether articulating in conversation or giving formal updates.

Job Applications

No longer did I struggle to know what to include in my CV. My journal provided so much information that I could tailor every single application with unique content.

And when it came to interviews, I was never short of examples to illustrate my skills and experience.

Career Tracking is the best habit you can adopt to accelerate your career. 

Without this journal, you’ll forget the details of your achievements - especially the numbers.

Once it becomes a consistent weekly habit, you will be shocked by how quickly keeping this information close to you will impact on your ability to promote yourself - both internally and externally.

With that promotion so many more opportunities will present themselves. 

And you’ll find accelerating your career will come very naturally.