The Diary

As the great physicist Niels Bohr once said, "If you don't write it down, it didn't happen."

The most important skill for a professional to master is the art of keeping track of important details. How do you know if a detail is important? You don't - or in any case, you don't know until after the fact. So in order to ensure you don’t miss the important details, it is essential to get into the habit of taking notes, of organizing notes, and of following-up on notes - of recording as many details as you can, in other words. And to do so on a timely basis.

Each week, students will be required, in addition to preparing the weekly exercises, to write two pages of observations about the material covered in class and how it reflects on their personal experience, either as a professional or otherwise. Some weeks I might suggest what you write about in your diary; other weeks it will be up to you. You need not follow my suggestions, so long as you write your pages.

At the end of the course, I will review your diary, but you may blank out any material you feel is too personal or intimate. No one else will see what you write. The purpose of keeping the diary is to get into the habit of taking regular notes, reflecting on your experience, keeping track of unanswered questions and other details that may or may not prove important. (Benjamin Franklin "debriefed" this way at the end of every day of his life, a sure sign of a shrewd businessperson and politician, statesperson - in short, or a professional.)

I strongly suggest setting aside an hour a week, preferably the same hour each week, to do the diary exercise. It doesn't matter what you write, just so long as you write something. Indeed, the less thought you give to what you are going to write beforehand the more useful the exercise will prove to be.