"I really thought I had the job!"

So, I have spent the past few weeks interviewing and waiting for a response from a great company.  We can call them "ABC Cards" for the purpose of my writing.

This starts with a networking contact sending me an email.  My friend RK has tried to introduce me to JW.  He (RK) believes JW would make an excellent networking contact since we are both in similar industries.  JW and I have never had a chance to meet but he has my resume and a positive word from RK.  JW sends me an email informing me of an open position with ABC Cards; he thinks I would be a good fit for this job.  "I know the hiring manager, her name is KB.  Apply for the position and call her."  (side note here, JW has already contacted KB and she is expecting my call).  THIS IS AWESOME!  Through networking I have located a position that I'm a good fit for.  I quickly realize I have learned about this job even before it's been posted.  KB and I have a quick phone conversation and a few more email conversations before the position is (finally!) posted and I apply.  One more short email to KB letting her know my application is posted and she can look for it.
I now, not so patiently, wait for 'the phone call'.  I spend my time doing a little research on ABC Cards and find some interesting speaking points for the first interview.  They are looking into acquiring a competitor, business growth over the recent quarters has been excellent, etc.
Jane (HR person for ABC Cards) calls me and schedules my first interview.  SWEET!!!  I'm working on a short-term contract position with a different company at the time so finding time to wrap up my research is challenging; so challenging in fact that I'm still doing research (on my phone) while I'm in the lobby of ABC Cards waiting to meet with KB the hiring manager.  We have a GREAT conversation; we talk about the position, where the company is headed, how this role fits into the short & long-term companies goals.  I ask questions that show I've done my research and highlight my passions that mesh with the company.  I leave the interview excited about our meeting and looking forward to a second call.
A few weeks pass and the second call arrives!!!  This time they are asking for a short presentation which is right up my alley.  I love this kind of stuff.  I have a lot of fun preparing and presenting the information they ask for.  We discuss the company culture, details around the role and responsibilities of the position and I even have a chance to talk (one on one) with a helpful HR person before I leave.  I'm excited and upbeat during the second interview and leave feeling almost as confident as when I left the first interview.

A few more weeks pass.  I leave town (business travel for the short-term contract position) and Monday my wife calls me.  She wanted to let me know that ABC Cards sent me a letter!  The letter is to inform me that ABC Cards appreciates my interest in the position but has chosen someone else that they felt was a better fit.

I.  Am.  Devastated.
I spent the last two weeks almost 100% sure that ABC Cards was going to offer me this position.  I've even been planning how to explain to my short-term contract employer I will have to leave.  (Side note here, this short-term contract is indefinite, its not based on time its based on project completion).
I'm crushed.  Emotionally crushed.  Physically, I feel sick.  I'm confused.  I feel like all my work for the past YEAR has been a joke.  I feel like I have been fooling myself into believing I actually have something of value to offer a company.  I even start to convince myself the only reason why I got a second interview was because the hiring manager (KB) knew a 'friend' of mine (JW).  I start thinking about every single minute of both interviews; where did I screw up?  What did I say wrong?  What question did I answer poorly?  Was my presentation that bad?  AM I THIS MUCH OF A LOSER???
The answer is no.  ABC Cards simply found someone that they thought was a better overall fit.  For example, both ABC Cards and myself realized my target salary was near the top of their budget for this position.  It would be logical to assume that they found someone with similar skills willing to accept a lower offer.

This isn't "my fault"; I didn't "screw something up".

What can I learn from this?  What learning's can I share with you, my reader?

1) Don't put all; or even most of your eggs in one basket.
Remember, no position is "locked in" until the company makes you an offer.  Even then it's still not really locked in until you start your first day at work.  Remember this.  Don't start planning how you will live your life "after you start work" until your first day on the job.  It's OK to make general plans but don't start living like your work at X company until you really start work at X company.

2) Keep an open mind; don't look for reasons to kick yourself.
You will get interviews.  You will have conversations with Hiring Managers that seem to be perfect.  You will walk away from an interview so sure they are going to make you an offer that you even quit applying for other jobs.  DON'T DO THIS.
Remember to never stop applying for jobs until you start your first day at work.  For every interview be willing and able to review that meeting with an open mind.  Makes notes during and after the interview.  Keep as detailed as possible a record of what happened.  When you look back on that meeting, ask yourself three questions.  "What went well?"  "What did not go well?"  "What can I learn from this?"  Sometime it will be hard to answer those questions, sometimes you will only have your 'gut' feeling as an answer.  You can't necessarily call up the Hiring Manager and ask them can you?  Trust your 'gut'.  If you are working hard on your Hunt, meeting with people and gathering insight from others, your 'gut' will probably have the right answer.  (As a side note here, if you feel 'alone' at this time then you probably need to get involved with a group that meets on a consistent basis and is focused on helping people with their job search.  The value of interacting with other Job Seekers and meeting with a group of like minded individuals is something I cannot put into words.  For example, I have 3 friends right now, that I can call and ask them for insight on my recent interviews.)

3) Follow up with referral sources.  I have sent emails to JW through all of this process.  JW was kind enough to think about me and tell me about this position in the first place.  I owe him the respect of keeping him informed on progress.

4) VERY IMPORTANT.  YOU HAVE VALUE.  YOU ARE NOT WORTHLESS.
This is so important I can't find words to explain just HOW important it is.  YOU ARE VALUABLE.  YOU BRING SOMETHING SPECIAL TO YOUR NEW EMPLOYER NO MATTER WHO THEY ARE.   When you forget your value, others will not SEE your value.  It's important to have confidence during interviews and networking conversations.  Companies do not "give" people jobs.  People EARN jobs from employers.  They EARN a new job by selling their value to that company.  NO ONE will see your value if you don't see it yourself.
Build a small and close network of people you can depend on.  Call them whenever you need to be reminded of your value.  The more this close network knows about your professional history the better.  Whenever you feel 'down' (and I promise you will, we all do from time to time) cal one of these resources and tell them you are 'down'.  Call them on your way to an interview or the morning of an interview or just anytime you need an ego boost.  It's impossible to stay positive 100% of the time.  You will 'fall down'.  This network is responsible for helping you get back up and back to work on your Hunt.  These people are responsible for reminding you of all the incredible skills you have and how those skills are valuable to potential employers.  They are there to remind you to ask relevant questions during interviews.  They are there to support you.  Remember, no man is an island.


In closing...
Never stop applying for jobs until you start your first day at work.
Keep a close network of people to help you get back up when you are down.
Communication with others is key to your job search.
Be honest but not critical when reviewing past meetings for learning points.
Don't let "that letter" (you know the one "We regret to inform you...") get you down.  Take some time for retrospection, learn what you can and GET BACK TO WORK ON YOUR HUNT.

Feel free to share your own experiences in the comments.  I always look forward to feedback from readers.






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You have more time for blogging when you are unemployed

This is a quick post, mostly to scratch my 'itch'.  I've been looking at my blogger page for a few weeks now and thinking "I've GOTTA get another post out".  Well this is as close to that post as I'm going to get right now.  Forewarning, it's something of a ramble, not as structured as my usual posts.

When you are unemployed you have a lot of stress, a few questions, probably very little money and a lot of time. What you DO with that time will have an incredible affect on your mental and emotional health during that time.  (I believe this will also trickle over into you physical health as well, someone please find me a few doctors to prove this).

I used my time to network, boost my SEO and blog.  Recently, I haven't had time because I have reached my goal (at least temporarily) I'M WORKING (YAY! hear the crowd roar in the background of your imagination, I didn't have time/money for sound affects).  I have a short term contract with a contact center that needs some support with a data management software.
I have learned a few things...

While unemployed I established a daily ritual.  We all do, humans are creatures of habit.  If you don't believe me, ask a Marine Corp Instructor (BTW, THANK YOU to ALL of our military.  I can't mention them w/out saying thank you.)  This ritual allowed me time to meet once a week with a great group of people (shout-out to FUMC employment transition ministry in Tulsa OK), and allowed me time to blog.  I enjoy both.
Working has not allowed me those times because, well, I'm working.  You have to drive to work (most of the time) and back home, you have 8 or 9 hours of your day that belong to someone else.  It's uncomfortable.  I liked my daily habits and I miss  them.

This leads to my point(s).

1) MAKE SURE YOU LIKE WHAT YOU ARE DOING.  If you can, and I understand when you can't (sometimes you just have to have a paycheck, the mortgage appreciates getting paid), make sure the job offer that you accept is something you like doing.  From a more Christian (I am one) perspective; make sure the job offer is God's path for you.  If you enjoy your work, it will be easier to walk away from the old daily ritual and make a new one.

2) BE PREPARED FOR CHANGE.
          You are spending 1/3rd of your day at a new place, with new people. You are jumping, feet first, into a new culture.  Don't take the instinctive reaction and run away.  Prepare yourself before that big First Day Back at Work.  Think about the culture you are immersing yourself into and prepare for that (however small or large) culture shock.  Google requests new-hires wear funny hats; for some, that could be distracting or if perceived wrongly even humiliating.  (Google is not 'mean'  or malicious in any way to new employees.  They have done an EXCELLENT job of creating a casual workplace environment and it works for them very well, the hat is just a part of that).  Maybe you have a friend there or who has been there, talk to them about the culture.  If not, maybe you can find someone to reach out to and ask questions on LinkedIn (they have a great people search by company).  If you have to, Google "how to fit in at a new job".  There are resources out there, use them and prepare yourself.
          You are walking away from old habits.  Where you normally spent a good portion of your waking hours, you will be doing something else.  Make a list of those daily activities and find where you can work the important ones into your new schedule.  Maybe you blog, can you dedicate one hour per week in the evenings to writing about your passion?  Is it important enough?  Take time to think about and plan for it.  This will help to ease the discomfort of suddenly 'throwing away' your old schedule.
          You probably have a family.  They are used to your old schedule as well.  Talk to them, discuss the changes that are coming so everyone is prepared for change.  Remember, change is good; also remember, lack of communication and misunderstood expectations are the foundation behind many arguments (well, that and money.  Money is a blog for someone else).

Do I like what I am doing (my new short term contract work)?  A little.  Enough to make it my next career?  Not at this pay rate.  Am I going to quit?  No, after serious thought and prayer I believe I am where God wants me to be right now.  I have other long term opportunities that I am working (and praying!) on.
Do I fit the culture?  Perfectly.  I have a few old friends at this company and I gathered a real insight to the culture before agreeing to the contract.
Was I prepared for change?  NOPE.  Not in the least.  I miss my old habits, I'm uncomfortable.  Can I correct this?  Absolutely.  It's never to late to correct an error.  I simply need to take time (when I'm not working) and think about a few things, then make some changes to my non-work schedule.

As always, I hope this has helped someone.  I write not only for myself but also in the hope that someone, somewhere needs to read it.




(Remember to ignore this, it's just all my tags.  No need to read this, its just SEO. Employeer, internet, Job, Jobseeker, Lifehacker, Online Reputation Management, ORM, Recruiter, Social media, Wikipedia, chester, chester paul, chester paul lohman, paul, paul lohman, lohman, trainer, manager, Landing page, internet, internet tools, blog, blogging, bookmark, bookmarking,  email, IM, shopping, social network, social networking, social news)

From my friend Dan "I got The Job!"

On April 4 2011 A close friend called me with my favorite message.  He called to tell me he "got the job!"
I love that phone call and it makes me smile and say "thank you" to the Big Man Upstairs (yes, I'm referring to God) every time I get it.
Dan also mentioned he planned to write his "memoirs" covering the time that he was unemployed.  He planned to share his story with all the members at the Tulsa FUMC Employment Transitions Group.  (If you are in Tulsa OK and On The Hunt, it's a GREAT place to be by the way).  I read his story and asked him if I could share it on my blog.  I write to help others in their search for a new career, Dan's story is from the heart and an excellent example of how the job search should be handled.
Our time On The Hunt is a rough trip.  It can, and should be a learning experience.  It can, and should be a time for growth, both personally and professionally.  It will also be a time of pain, of self-doubt, self-questioning, perhaps a few (or a lot of) tears; a time of anger, acceptance and finally, a time of peace.
If the sentence above didn't apply to the last time you were unemployed; IMHO you were not unemployed, you were on vacation, and I think Dan would agree.
Below is Dan's story, as he wrote it.  I haven't changed a letter, blame him for any typos...



A Diary of Dot Com Unemployment
By Dan Regouby (4/5/2011)

A guy in Wisconsin received a message from a gal in Canada regarding an urgent employment opportunity in Oklahoma. He forwarded the message to a guy in Oklahoma because a guy in New York had connected them six months earlier. The guy in Oklahoma sent his resume to a gal in Illinois who sent it to a guy in Texas who called the guy in Oklahoma for a screening interview.  The guy in Texas called another gal in Canada who called the guy in Oklahoma to set up an interview eight miles from his house.
Welcome to unemployment in this dot com age! Though no single action made this interview a reality, the following “diary of events” from the guy in Oklahoma who, by the way, had to choose from TWO employment offers, illustrates what Teri Aulph wrote in her examiner.com article on April 3, “There is hope” and, “Giving up should not be an option”

The Oklahoma Guy wrote…
I entered the unemployed "workforce" on July 21, 2010. I immediately had my resume updated professionally, which I later learned shouldn’t be necessary if you are well networked and have people who are willing to help.
I began doing what I thought was the "best thing to do" by getting my name and resume out on the standard dot coms, calling a few local "headhunters", and calling people from my past who might be able to help. I had joined LinkedIn a long time ago but was not at all active so, in mid August I updated a few things on LinkedIn too.
In the 3rd week of August 2010… I re-connected with a man via LinkedIn with whom I'd worked over 20 years ago in central Texas. I'll call him Robert... since that's his name! He had just accepted a new position near New York City.
During the last week of August 2010… I enrolled at Southern Nazarene University (SNU) in Tulsa in their Organizational Leadership adult-learning program on a path to graduation in November 2011.

August 31... Robert wrote a recommendation for me on LinkedIn (He knew the power of the tool and I didn't... yet). He also advised that I connect to about six other search-engine dot coms some of which directly dealt with my career path… so I did!
I now had about eight "engines" running my unemployment "train" with at least three "engineers" (recruiters) trying to place me and I was averaging fifteen to twenty on-line job applications per week. I was feeling pretty good about my efforts and myself because I had even interviewed a couple of times in person and by phone... YEA!

September 23… Robert gave me Tim’s contact info. Tim lives in Milwaukee Wisconsin. I immediately called Tim and connected with him on LinkedIn and he said that he'd be happy to help me because, "any friend of Robert is a friend of mine"… COOL!

September 24, 2010 through January 17, 2011… I continued my application-filling and resume sending cycle with only a few encouraging responses such as phone interviews and even a couple more personal interviews. I’d been in front of employers but, for the first time in my career, was not getting hired. During that nearly 4-month period my severance money ran out, my divorce became final, and I began to feel the pressure of what I was beginning to believe was my repeated failure to measure up.
I continued leaning forward into every day except for the days periodically that said “no”. Some days were rather mean to me y’know. They forced me to moan and groan in self pity so that I’d know what giving up might look and feel like and though they were few and far between… they provided clarity on what I DID NOT want. On my “leaning-forward” days I’d get up early, exercise, dress like an employed person, do my hours searching and applying, and continue my SNU studies which, in retro, have been a life-saver.

January 18… I received a group E-mail from Isabelle Estes of the Career Transitions Group that meets at the University of Phoenix every Tuesday morning at 11. She obtained my E-mail address from one of those “standard dot coms” I referenced earlier... and on a whim... I attended.
Isabelle and Vernice Bersche are giving back to the community by offering professional coaching for people in career transition and the information offered is absolutely awesome and for me, life changing. This was my first introduction to unemployment networking in Tulsa Oklahoma. I met some other awesome people who STRONGLY encouraged me to go to the Employment Transitions Ministry and Overcoming Job Transitions (ETM and OJT) group meeting the following Thursday morning at First United Methodist Church (FUMC) in downtown Tulsa.

January 20… I went to the ETM and OJT group meeting at FUMC for the first time and, with support from very caring people in both networking groups, I began listening intently and responding accordingly to the sometimes overwhelming amount of information offered at every meeting.
I took advantage of what the ETM and OJT group calls “The Launch Pad” two times in the first four weeks of attending. The Launch Pad is a 20-minute time slot offered to anyone willing to go through it where the searching candidate is given the opportunity to present their resume accompanied by their story. After presenting, the candidate would receive very helpful critiques as well as contact information and ideas aimed at “launching” the candidate into a more productive level of career alignment.

During the next 36 days… I went to eight networking meetings, created, ordered, and received personal business cards, created a personal Website, tweaked my resume more times than I willing to admit (LOL), created and practiced my own seven-minute drill (OK... I know it’s supposed to be 2 minutes but I'm still working on it!), "capsulized" my two-minute answer to the question, "so tell me about yourself", created and/or tweaked my resume and all of my LinkedIn, Facebook, Yahoo, G-mail, and Blogger accounts for optimal database searching, kept up with my classes at SNU, and continued applying to employment ads all at an exhausting pace.

February 24… after the ETM and OJT meeting... Russ (one of the leaders of the FUMC group) handed me a ticket for the Tulsa Chamber of Commerce networking event that evening with the encouragement from many saying, "It's a great place to network and practice your two-minute or elevator speech". I attended and did just that at least 23.7 times based on the number of business cards I scavenged over the nearly 3-hours of networking.

Not really sure how I'd done, I moseyed toward the exit feeling that I had spent my time wisely. All of the vendors were packing their materials including Teri Aulph of Teri Aulph Consulting whose booth I had passed without stopping at least ten times mostly due to it being right next to a 3-D video booth with some intense video playing that captured my attention on every round. I read some of the material she was now placing into boxes and positioned myself for my 24th two-minute drill. After a brief discussion and her graciously giving me a copy of her book titled "Experience Job Satisfaction", she agreed to speak with me by phone at 10:01 the following morning.

February 25 at 10:06 (I was late)… I called Teri and she agreed to meet with me the following Friday at 9 AM at Borders so I could show and discuss with her my culture-measuring process. The following week I had to travel to Dallas for urgent family reasons and Teri agreed that I should call her when I returned.

March 9… I received a call from Joe, a recruiter in Denver to whom I sent a resume a month earlier, telling me that a candidate for a position in Norman OK had not accepted the position for which I had applied and that he was attempting to get me in for an interview… YEA!

March 11… I picked up the phone at about 10 AM and on a whim called Teri back intending to reschedule the meeting for the following week. When Teri answered, she told me in a rather surprised tone, that when her phone rang she had been looking for my E-mail address because she was available at 1 PM that day to chat. We agreed to meet at Borders and that is when my life and career path significantly changed.

The scheduled one-hour turned into three hours and nine minutes (not that I was counting) due to her 2 PM appointment at the same location canceling. During that time we discussed many things including our history-highlights, my culture-measurement process, and how she perceived me at the Chamber of Commerce event then during our time together at Borders.
Teri told me that she almost chose to not meet with me because of how "hyper" I appeared at the Chamber of Commerce event. She had my undivided attention… so I asked for more detail. She explained that she met with me one, because I had developed a process that measures organizational culture and two, that she had offered her professional assistance to anyone from the ETM and OJT group.
She went on to tell me that when she met me at Borders that I was much more relaxed and that I conversed very well and captured her attention with my passion for what I was presenting though it needed some tweaking. She then told me something that hit me hard and brought a tear to my eye.
She said, "Dan, when you told me about your education it was as if you were apologizing. Your whole countenance changed and you appeared ashamed of the fact that you don't yet have a degree." She then coached and encouraged me by telling me that I have an amazingly diverse background and the fact that I am on schedule to get a degree by year's end proves that I am a learner and that every conversation... especially interviews... should be filled with that fact. Our meeting ended with mutual desire to meet again to discuss my soon to be modified cultural analysis presentation and to keep her apprised of any career-search developments. I should note here that I have been coached and supported by dear friends and family many of whom had similar encouragement but for some reason… Teri’s words hit me at the core and I heard it clearly.

March 14 at 10:09 PM… I received E-mail from Tim (Remember... the one in Wisconsin who is good friends with Robert in New York who knew me in Texas 20 years ago?) who had received E-mail from Crystal, a recruiter in Canada with "Urgent Requirement - Environmental Health and Safety Manager" in the Subject line. I immediately responded to Crystal upon Tim's advice.

March 16… I received a call from Thomas, a recruiter from Crystal’s company in Houston, who performed a screening interview by phone then passed me to Lori Ann back in Canada who set up an interview in Broken Arrow, OK on March 22nd.

March 22… I interviewed at the Broken Arrow Company with a very humble, relaxed, and confident spirit and they said that they would definitely contact me to schedule a second interview the following week. As I left... the VP of Operations handed me the book, Season of Life by Jeffrey Marx and asked that I read it and send him my comments on how the culture championed in the book might fit into their culture. I went home and began reading the book (which was very good by the way) and by noon the next day had sent my thoughts back as requested.

March 23 at about 10:30 AM… while I was still attempting to finish the book, I received a call from a friend who had hired me at my last job. He told me that he had just spoken with a friend of 20 years working in Midwest City whose company was seeking a safety professional and that they were just finishing their interviewing process. He told his friend about me so I immediately contacted his friend and sent him my resume upon his request.

March 24 at 4:55 PM… I received a call from the Broken Arrow Company asking me to meet with their plant manager and the head of HR for the second interview at 10 AM the next morning. I agreed!

March 25… I met for my second interview, which went as well as the first. They said they would all meet to discuss the situation and that they would contact me the next week. I also received a call from Midwest City for an interview at 9:30 AM on the 29th  I immediately called Joe (the recruiter in Denver) telling him that I was interviewing in Midwest City and would appreciate an interview opportunity in Norman while I was there if at all possible.

March 28… Joe called me back asking if a 1 PM interview with the Norman company would be OK and of course… I agreed.

March 29… I left Tulsa around 7 AM and arrived in Midwest City around 9:15. I interviewed with my friend’s friend and a few others then rushed to Norman, grabbed a Taco Bell fajita wrap (not recommended ten minutes before an interview), then interviewed with the some top folks from the Norman Company. Somewhere around 4 PM, while just leaving Norman, the Broken Arrow Company called and gave me a verbal offer of employment… OMG!

March 30… I received a message from Joe saying that the Norman Company was going to “continue their search”. I’m convinced it was due to the fajita wrap.

March 31… I received an offer from the Midwest City Company… OMGX2!

April 1… I accepted a position with the Broken Arrow Company!

So… what happened in the last 30 days of his unemployment that hadn’t happened in the first 224? He “wrapped the right language around his story” (Teri Aulph) and presented it with humble confidence!
No single action changed the final 30 days of his unemployment rather, a series of single actions taking place over a 20-year period the last 254 days of which included love, acceptance, brokenness, humility, change, education, coaching, and continuous encouragement from the “force” of the unemployed people surrounding me and the many selfless individuals helping us to find our way.
Thanks to each and every one of you who continue to play a critical part in my life… I will give back!

Dan (The Oklahoma Guy)
Dan Regouby
http://www.paragon-films.com
http://www.alwaysaware.info
alwaysaware@ymail.com

"What did I learn?"

I had a meeting with Teri Aulph a few weeks back; Teri is AWESOME by the way and she has an amazing book.  If you are working, you need this book, if you are On The Hunt you need this book.  So, just go get the book.  Teri also tweets some really good stuff.  If you tweet, you should follow her, I do.

Anyway, Teri and I were talking about day planners and Moleskins.  Neither Teri nor I are totally loyal to any particular format or product but agree that you should always have some kind of paper & pen with you ALL THE TIME.  (To quote Teri) "When I write something down, I own it.".  The process of writing things down helps your memory and offers you an archive that you can refer back to in the future.  It is also a wonderful system for self-awareness and improvement.

I agreed that I always carried a planner with me and Teri offered a suggestion.  "At the end of the day, write down three questions near the bottom of the page and answer them.  This gives you a quick view of the day and what was important.  Reading through your answers to these questions will show you things about yourself you may not have known."

Question #1 "What went well?"
What did you do today that went well?  Did you accomplish something?  Did you have a meeting that was positive?  Did you help someone?  Any positive experience can be written here.

Question #2 "What didn't go well?"
Bad meeting?  Miss a goal?  Negative interaction with someone?  A negative experience is a learning opportunity, don't hesitate to answer this question.

Question #3 "What did I learn?"
Did I learn something from a positive or negative experience?  Did I have an opportunity to learn something new?  If I could walk through this day again, would I do something different? (If you answered "yes", you probably learned something!)

I added a little formatting to my questions (I'm OCD).  Before the question I add a "*" and before the answer I tab in and add a "-" (or course I don't really 'tab'; I'm writing on paper!!!).  it looks like this...
*What went well?
-Great meeting with Teri.  Very positive person, she has an attitude that is not only positive but contagious.
*What didn't go well?
-answer written here
The formatting makes it really quick to glance at the page and read through the answers.  Remember the suggestion came from Teri but you can make any changes you like.  Mold this into something that works for you and you will be more likely to do it every day.
I don't complete the questions every day but I try.  I also don't kick myself when I miss a day.  I just write an answer to "What did I learn?" as "Need to try harder to answer these questions every day, important."

I have tried this for the last few weeks and found I enjoy answering the questions at the end of the day.  I've also realized it will give me insight to my sometimes cryptic notes regarding a specific day.  In a digital world it is very easy to forget the importance of writing on paper.  I am a BIG fan of pen/paper and can't promote "write it down" enough.

As a side note...
If you take nothing else from this post, I sincerely hope it has encouraged you to get a pen/paper system of some kind.  I have a $200 Franklin planner that stays at home.  It's a beautiful leather binder, holds up to 3 months of two pager per day pages (among other things), has slots for business cards and... IT IS HEAVY.  The nice, pretty Franklin planner, sits at home, on my desk.
When I'm out, I carry either an 8.5X11 notepad or what I call "yellopad" its an Ampad, 1 subject notebook, wire-bound, 80 sheets, narrow ruled, 8X5 inches.  It's not pretty, in fact the color makes it stand out and scream "I am not an expensive trendy Moleskin!".  I like it and so I carry it.  I'm OCD and my system means I write notes more than once (everything eventually ends up in the Franklin!).  I like the system because "if once it good, twice is better".  Maybe thats true, maybe its not.  The important point is that I like my system and therefore, I use it.


Find a pen/paper system that works for you and that you like.  Get a cheap notepad & a 25 cent pen.  Get a Moleskin, a Franklin (love Frankilin BTW) but get something!  Don't be afraid to experiment and switch things around, maybe try different pens, or try a multi-pen (different colors in one pen).  Try different papers, maybe you like artists notepads?  It sounds appealing to me, a nice clean sheet, no lines or grids, just clean white space I can write notes on.  The following guidelines may help you to build your own pen/paper system.

1) Plan to carry this EVERYWHERE.  Your sisters house, meetings, interviews.  I'm serious, this thing should always be in your hand.

2) #1 means it should be light, small enough to not get in the way or be a hassle to carry but big enough to write in.  (I really like the 8X5 size)

3) Find a pen or pencil (I'm a big pencil guy) that you like.  Something that writes smooth, and that doesn't interfere with the process of writing.  Does your pen smudge?  Does the smudge bother you?  If it bothers you, try a different pen, if not, keep writing!

4) Plan to archive.  Write the date at the top of each page (you can have more than one page for a day, remember there are no rules!).  This is not only a system for helping you keep track of today, today; but it's also a system to help you keep track of today, 5 years from now! (I mean this.  I needed to build accomplishments for my resume.  I didn't have copies of my annual reviews so I read through 10 YEARS of Franklin archives.  Two pages per day, notes on every page.  Those notes helped me remember some really incredible things I had forgotten about.  You never know when you need to take a walk down memory lane.)


It is always my hope that what I write helps someone.  If I've helped you, let me know in the comments.  If you keep a day planner of any kind, I would LOVE to hear your comments.  What do you use?  How does it work for you?  Any pen or a special pen? (I love Uni-ball micro fine pens!)




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