Why Salesforce developers and Salesforce administrators should keep a work log

Do you ever wonder how some Salesforce professionals just seem like they "remember everytrhing" at work? Let me show you how you can do that too.

Do Salesforce professionals remember what they do at work?

How do most Salesforce developers and administrators remember what they did at work?

Well...they don't. Most people say they feel overrun by the amount of work they have to do, and they feel like firefighting keeps them from moving forward on their projects. They're just too busy.

I want you to imagine this scenario:

It's performance review season, and your manager asks you to write your self-review. By the way, it's the basis for whether you get a merit increase/promotion or not.

You take a pen and paper and get ready to start writing. Then, you blank. I guess I'll write a few sentences and hope for the best.

Hope is not a strategy!

You can make one choice to make recalling what you did at work a piece of cake. Regardless of your role, adopting this simple practice dramatically impacts your productivity and career. It's called a work log.

The concept of a work log is not new.

Priya Narasimhan wrote that you should Maintain a Career Brag Book
Julia Evans wrote extensively about how to get your work recognized

Salesforce developers and Salesforce admins should track their work

Think of a work log as a living document where you write important things you worked on for the day.

Did you start a new feature? What about an ad-hoc meeting with stakeholders to drill into a new initiative?

Did production go down?

Why Salesforce professionals should track their work

After noticing that some of the organized and accomplished engineers and product managers I worked with kept a work log, I stole the idea and started doing it myself.

Now, will keeping a work log make you more accomplished in your career? No. But, you'll have a better grip on what you did on a day-to-day basis.

You'll start to see trends in your day-to-day work:

You have a better grip on your day

You can see how you're spending your day. Did you want to crank out a Flow at the beginning of your day, only to find yourself ending your day commenting on a design proposal that another developer proposed? You'll be able to track that with a work log.

You can spot inefficiencies in processes (inside Salesforce and out)

A few years ago, I noticed I spent more time with a stakeholder than others over three months. Upon reading my notes, the calls were about getting more business context on the incredibly vague requirements. I drafted a proposal that our stakeholders should provide more business context on the tickets, significantly reducing the number of sessions.

You are more organized

You can say no to unimportant work more quickly because you have a document outlining your priorities.

Share this document with your managers and coworkers, and there won't be any ambiguity about your work.

They'll also perceive you as being more organized.

Performance reviews are easier

When it comes to performance reviews, assume your manager has a very particular type of amnesia where they remember nothing about your work or its impact.

A work log is a cure that helps your manager remember everything you've done.

They'll thank you for your organization, and it'll show in the performance review.