5 Reasons To Keep A Work Diary

Many historical figures kept work diaries or journals. Ben Franklin, John Adams, Andy Warhol, and countless others have recorded the events of their day in some form. While these historic diaries are incredibly fascinating for us to read today, the benefit they gave to the writers was probably far greater.

Richard Branson has written bestsellers based largely off of his years of recording his daytime thoughts and working experiences into journals. Reading Branson's thoughts motivated me to keep a loose log of work and life experiences as well. The ritual has helped me immensely, probably more than any other work or time management "hack."

My process is pretty simple: At the end of each day I'll recount what worked, what didn't, and some other random things that happened during the day. There isn't a lot of structure, just merely stream of thought that lasts about fifteen minutes. Sometimes I'll vent in wordy prose, other times I'll just make a quick list. I've found that it's not so much what or how I write, but rather that I do it. The results have been profound for me. I'd recommend this practice to anyone. Here's why:

1. The release

If anything, it feels good to unwind and recount the bits of the day. There's something about the finality in writing something down on paper that makes it more real, and makes the memories stronger. I doubt I'd be able to remember half of what I did throughout the day if I didn't recount them. It also helps with answering that recurring question of "Where did the day go?!"

2. An honest overview

If you're like me, you keep lists of stuff that needs to be done throughout the day. I've had days where the morning started with 15 things on the list, and ended with 13 left undone. Ouch. Yet being able to recall the day allows me to see some of the other things I did get done that weren't on the list.

3. See the wins

We often forget the things that we got done during the day for lots of reasons. We're taught at an early age that what we do isn't as important as what we didn't do. After all, what we don't get done often impacts us more in work and other social settings. This causes us to automatically shove the stuff we did accomplish into the back of our minds, and fret about the undone. However, focusing on what we have done—the wins—in our day rejuvenates. Going to bed looking at what was accomplished can be a massive motivator to help start the next day, and can keep us from closing the day on a sour note.

4. Minimize your mistakes

One definition of insanity is repeating the same process over and over again, while expecting a different outcome. Similarly, it's easy to plow through each work day like the last, without giving a second thought to the events of the day. This is especially true for our bad days. On our worst days, we simply want to unwind and not have to relive the nightmare that was the previous working day. But it turns out the worst parts of our days are important to remember as well (even though it stings). Reverse engineering what went wrong is helpful to ensure it doesn't happen again, and work journals are perfect for this.

5. A new perspective on your day

The most helpful part of this exercise for me is getting perspective on what my days end up looking like.  After a particularly bad day last month I reflected, stiff drink in hand, on all the events of the day. This helped me to see that my day wasn't as bad as I had remembered it. In fact, it was a really decent day, minus a couple setbacks towards the end. In my mind I had made these setbacks out to be more important than they were. The day wasn't a total loss after all! Perspective is everything.

As our days move by us faster and faster, it becomes that much more important to take a breath, and reflect on what happened during the day. Without the perspective of our days, we can't really take satisfaction in our big wins, nor can we learn from our mistakes.

"Buy Put" Stock Option Investment Strategy"

A stock option is a contract that gives investors the right, but not the obligation, to buy or sell 100 shares of stock at a strike price by a set expiration date. A "call option" enables investors to "lock-in" a price for a particular stock (the strike price) for a premium. If the stock price goes above the strike price by enough to cover the premium paid for the "call option" and any commission fees, the investor will make a profit. Should the stock price never reach that strike amount, the investor only loses the premium, and any commissions paid. In other words, "call options" have unlimited potential profit with minimal risk, which make them good investments during bull markets, where returns continue to outperform historical norms.

A "put option", however, is a better investment option during bear markets, when returns are below historical averages. A "put option" gives the holder the right (but not the obligation) to sell 100 shares of stock at the strike price to the writer of the option. In other words, the writer of the option is betting that the stock price will rise above the strike price. Using the "buy put" stock option investment strategy means that you are betting that stock prices will go down---and the lower the better!

The more "bearish" you feel about the market, the better the "buy put" stock option strategy becomes. Thus, for the price of the premium, the investor locks in the right to sell the 100 shares of stock reserved by the option to the writer at strike price.The lower the stock price goes, the more profitable the option becomes. The investor would be acquiring the 100 shares of stock at a cheaper price (if he/she does not already own it), but is guaranteed to sell the option to the writer for the (higher) strike amount. The larger the gap between the actual stock price and the strike amount (at time of expiration or when option is exercised), the greater the profit.

The maximum loss for an investor using the "buy put" stock option investment approach is the premium paid plus commission fees. If the expiration date arrives and the stock price remains above the strike price, then the loss is total, and the option is worthless. The break even point for a "buy put" option is the exercise amount of the stock, minus the premium and commissions.

"Buy put" options are also susceptible to decay, as their value continues to decrease as the expiration date grows nearer. The only variable that affects decay is the overall volatility of stock prices. When the market is more volatile, the rate of decay will slow. However, when prices are steady and consistent, the rate of decay will actually increase, since predictable prices mean that the time decay is also predictable. For investors who believe that they are in a bearish market, however, the "buy put" stock option investment strategy may be a good one with limited downside.