Worklogue / noun
[work-log] A record or logging in account of work that you have done.

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Ever since I started working, I've accumulated a number of projects to work on and with each project, I log in my ideas and drafts, followed by the final execution. I find that keeping a log of my work helps me a lot later on when I need to look back and review things again.


BENEFITS OF A WORKLOGUE

• You keep a track of your work – which could be helpful for your portfolio
• You monitor your progress
• You develop a habit of accomplishing work through proper progresses
• You get to look back and review your work to learn from mistakes
• You have a record of some of your proudest works yet

Of course, not many people see a point to keeping a worklogue. However, if you do care about your work and the progress of your career, you should also care about your work progress because sometimes you can't move onwards if you don't know what you're doing wrong. A worklogue helps keep your progress in check, and it helps you learn.

If you believe a worklogue can help you be better in your career, here's how to start.


STARTING A WORKLOGUE
You need a notebook, obviously. Pick one that suits your career needs most – lined for writing, unlined for mind map doodles, calendar styles for appointments, day-by-day styles for busy bees, and so on. I always go for unlined, because my job requires a lot of blank space for ideas to flow. There are so many variants; from the ever popular Moleskines, to Filofaxes, the decorative and luxe PaperBlanks and to my favorite Leuchtturm. Know what you need, and purchase as needed.

MAKE IT YOURS
It is proven that people feel better working with something that feels more personal to them. So personalize your worklogue in any way you like, so that you don't have to work on a plain notebook like everyone else. You can glue a collage, or keep it simple with just your name, or even paint your front cover, like what I did here, tutorial included.

MAKE A CONTENTS PAGE
If possible, get a book that is page numbered, or number it yourself manually. Prepare a contents page so that you can record all your projects and idea pages as you go along. Trust me, this would come as a great help in times to come. It doesn't kill to be organized. My book came with a contents page already, so all I had to do was to start filling it up.




START FILLING UP
There are so many possibilities when it comes to filling up your worklogue. You can make it more useful & interesting by adding in more than just minute details and job briefs. Don't leave it to be boring! Make an effort to include in more things that relates to your work.

• IDEAS - Write, sketch, scribble, find an idea to print and paste, or even a clipping from a magazine that inspired you. You'll never know when an idea could be of use in future.
• QUOTES - Something you learnt from an iconic figure, something your boss or colleague said that inspires, even an anecdote or two form your mom.
• PLANS - Plan out your projects through sketches or mind maps, maybe even a pie chart or two. Don't just leave the page stuck at the job brief, continuously update the page until your project is complete, then paste the final result to finish off.
• COLORS - Are not just for kids. Keeping your worklogue color coded and colorful helps you to be more organized and focused.
• POST-ITS - A great way to add color and reminders for multiple projects and appointments. Another great organization for your worklogue.

PROJECT PLANNING
As I mentioned earlier, the benefits of a worklogue is to record the progress for each of your projects – to keep you organized and to also help you learn and improve as you go. I'm going to show you a snippet from my worklogue for how I plan and record each project.








So really, project planning is not only helpful, but also helps you track down all your work progress easily for future references.



GO BY EXAMPLE
Here are a few pages from my worklogue, dated from 2012 to end of 2013, for your reference, if you need more ideas. I have since started on a second worklogue for 2014. :)


PLANNING / IDEA SKETCHING & RATIONALES - As you can tell, my work most revolves around a lot of photoshoots that involves watches, products and fashion.





FINAL EXECUTION - Not only it adds color and makes your worklogue more 'happening',  it helps you track down past projects easily.





So really, it doesn't require any Herculean strength to maintain a worklogue. You just need to constantly keep organized and update your logs as often as you update your Facebook page.