Tally your accomplishments

Taking ownership of your career means taking ownership of your results. It’s not enough to do great work and hope people will notice. You need to do great work and then tell people what you did.

In a perfect world, everyone would be recognized for their accomplishments. But life is much too complicated and busy for that.

Sometimes our manager fails to notice. Or our contribution goes misunderstood. Other times we just forget.

Well, here’s a tactic that can help: Start tallying your accomplishments.

I’ve also heard it called a “brag document.” It’s something that you update on a regular basis throughout the year to keep track of the things you’ve done.

I find it helpful in many ways. For instance:

• Use it to update your resume: You don’t have to parse through old emails or spend an entire afternoon wracking your brain to remember everything notable that you did when you can just cherry-pick the best from a list of accomplishments.
• Share it with your manager: Give them the ammunition they need to advocate for your bonus/promotion during your year-end performance review. It’s also a handy resource to have when you get a new manager late in the year who may be unfamiliar with your previous work.
• Remember to celebrate your wins: Take time to appreciate your hard work with some positive self-talk. A list of recent accomplishments can provide some much-needed motivation after a stressful day.
• See the big picture: Over time, you may start to notice some trends in your work. Use this document to reflect and plan for the future. What have you done that you are most proud of? What do you wish you could do more/less of? Are you spending your time working on the right things?

Your “brag document” is more than just a tool to help you land a promotion or get pats on the back. Keeping a log of your accomplishments is about taking responsibility for managing your career.

Because when you can remember and communicate effectively what you did yesterday, you make it easier for others to find and value your work tomorrow.