- How to Build a Work Log Part 1
- Download 2 Easy-To-Use Work Log Templates Part 2
- Additional Resources Part 3
- How to Dramatically Reduce Time You Spend Creating Reports Part 4
A work log is a report that summarizes how an employee spent his time on the job.
Part 1
Through a daily work log, an employee can create a mental picture of what comprises his day and how he uses his time. It is also helpful in understanding how productive an employee is during a particular period of the workday.
For example, if an employee is more energetic and driven in the morning, he may work on his most significant tasks during this period and schedule his less demanding tasks during the afternoon such as responding to emails or returning calls.
When the employee is able to understand how he uses his time at work, he is also able to plan his day to make it more productive.
Daily work logs can also serve as a basis for determining non-core activities that use most of the employee’s time but does not help him reach his performance objectives and targets. If they can see how much time they spend on these activities, they should be able to do something to reduce if not to eliminate them altogether.
Aside from that, maintaining a daily work log is the first step towards developing a systematic way of handling tasks, thus ensuring an orderly work process.
Here are some ways on how to come up with a daily work log and how to use it to help improve the employee’s work:
- A daily work log should be a document which can be accessed easily and readily by the employee should he need to record his activity. The process of recording details should be straightforward.
- Aside from the daily activities, it should also contain information on important decisions made, unusual events such as work stoppage and emergencies, delivery of items, visitors, and other matters that the employee may deem relevant to look back on in the future.
- Keeping a daily work log should not only be for documentation purposes. The employee should also review it periodically to see how much he has accomplished in a given period, what tasks or projects are close to completion, and which ones need more of his attention and time. It can also motivate him to see that things are going just as planned and that he was able to accomplish all tasks. This will help him gauge his time management skills and increase his productivity.
- A plan for the next day may also go in the daily work log. As such, it serves two purposes—as a to-do list that the employee plans to accomplish and a work log after the task is complete.
Using a daily work log is a helpful productivity tool to track an employee’s activities and his accomplishments during the day. It also serves as a documentation of all important things to remember which he may otherwise forget. It also helps ensure that a pending task is seen and that the employee did not miss any assignments.
Part 2
Daily Work Log: Free Download Section
Click Here to Download Daily Work Log Template XLSX
Click Here to Download Daily Work Log 2 DOCX
—————————————————————————-
You can also use the following templates on ProsperForms:
Part 3