Track Your Wins

We’ve all been there. Performance review time rolls around immediately after a project you’ve worked on didn’t go well. Rather than finding yourself at the mercy of the “recency” effect, make a practice of creating a record of your performance so that you can accurately capture exactly how you’ve contributed throughout the entire year.

In addition to collecting the “Atta boy” emails that result from a good job, make notes for yourself about projects that went well that others may not have been aware of, and identify exactly what you contributed to the effort. Capture the economic impact of your efforts if at all possible. Regularly review and document for yourself what you’ve done, no matter how small. On days when things are not going well, take a moment to review your wins. It will help you gain needed perspective, and in the long term it will help you provide that perspective to your management.