#332 keeping track

In addition to being a good sender of the kind of love notes I described yesterday, I would recommend a strategy for when you are the recipient.  What do you do with those notes that you receive?  Instead of tossing them, you should create a file for yourself.

My folder contains cards, post-it notes, handwritten scribbles and a host of things to remind me that I am making a difference to someone.  If I get a great email, I print it out and stick it in the "smile file."  When I am having a really rotten day or wondering if my work matters, I drag it out and within a few moments I again become centered.

I also keep a file of the snarkiest emails and things that just set me on edge.  I don't read it as often, but somehow the passage of time makes even the worst things seem not so bad.  It keeps perspective for me -- if there really are only a few things in that file, I know it will be ok and that my feelings are colored by a few bad things that have happened recently.  If the file gets too big, then maybe it is a sign that it's time to dust off the old resume.

As a supervisor, I keep notes to remind me of my employees' ups and downs during the year.  It helps to develop a system that allows me to make the same assessment about myself.

-- beth triplett
leadershipdots.blogspot.com
@leadershipdots
leadershipdots@gmail.com