My Grandfather kept a journal, and they are most insightful and cherished for sure.

Thanks for taking the time Kristine!

I use mine much like you use yours…
1) Jot notes from meetings with clients, including ideas that pop into my head while we are talking about their projects

2) Task list of items — for me, my team and for my clients

3) Brainstorming — the kind where no idea is too outrageous. I often refer back to those sessions when I feel my creativity withering or I want some inspiration!

4) Weekly goals. I long ago stopped doing daily goals. Phone calls, other projects, unplanned meetings, etc. distressed my timeline. Now I do things on a weekly basis which keeps me organized, but I have some flexibility in my schedule.

5) I cut out articles, content, tools that I find in magazines, etc. and tape them into my journal. Sometimes the content is for me, other times it is helpful to my clients. But once it is in my journal, then I always have a reference point.

6) Graphic concepts. I keep a box of watercolor colored pencils in my journal “pouch”. When I have a brainstorm on a concept, I often will draw out the idea. It has helped me sketch out more than one web design, ad, brochure, etc.

7) Business cards of contacts I meet — or notes from connections I make through the social media. I'm a huge fan of actually connecting on a personal level with the people I meet through the social media. I take notes on what they do so if I need something later on (or one of my clients does) I have a record! It also helps me keep notes on my contacts on LinkedIn so that I have all of my information at my fingertips.

8) Legal stuff. Sometimes things change in our world — like how many organizations are blocking social media, or how social media can impact business relationships. I jot down those notes to make sure that if I need to reference it for a client, I have the data available. (It also helps me educate my attorney clients who need me to update them on the trends of ecommerce, web marketing, social media, etc.)

9) My kids. I let me kids draw, write notes in my journal. It's been fun to peek back into my journals and see how my kids change over the years. It is also nice when I'm traveling to see my kids handy work!

10) Prayer requests. While not applicable to everyone, I am a firm believer in starting the day in prayer. I keep my journal handy to know what I need to pray about, people who have asked or need prayer, and of course all the things I need to praise.

My grandfather who passed away 2 years ago had nearly 80 years of his “pocket” journals. They are now some of the most precious things my mom has from her family. They are riddled with trivia, note births and deaths, and are interesting to see that the cost of milk at one point was less than 50 cents!

The biggest thing that has helped me become more productive is to tag given tasks with a deadline, and then race to meet them (even for the smallest tasks).

Use of my journal continues to evolve. I recently setup a separate journal to write down things I learn at a conference, webinar, ebook, or given continuing education content.

That what you had in mind?

Thanks for chiming in.

Others? Comments? Ideas?

You always have such golden nuggets. I've been doing this stuff for over a decade and I still find myself learning tons and tons from you. I also appreciate that I “hear” your personality in your writing. Hey, great writers always know how to be themselves. Now if we could only teach everyone that….

My only suggestion to you is that it might be helpful if you broke up each one of your 12 lessons a bit more and elaborated on them. Some folks, for example, might not be aware of the business journal concept. My journal isn't so fashionable as your's but I haul mine around as if it is literally attached to me and couldn't imagine trying to remember everything without it. But then again, I'm getting old and forgetful as well!

What do you “do” in your business journal? Do you allocate a certain amount of time each week to do some free brainstorming for YOUR business? How to you use your journal to keep more productive, develop new strategies, keep notes of testing and results, etc.? You know, that kind of thing.

I wish you only the best for another 12 months times 1000! :) You have great stuff Travis, so keep up the good work!

My Grandfather kept a journal, and they are most insightful and cherished for sure.

Thanks for taking the time Kristine!

I use mine much like you use yours…
1) Jot notes from meetings with clients, including ideas that pop into my head while we are talking about their projects

2) Task list of items — for me, my team and for my clients

3) Brainstorming — the kind where no idea is too outrageous. I often refer back to those sessions when I feel my creativity withering or I want some inspiration!

4) Weekly goals. I long ago stopped doing daily goals. Phone calls, other projects, unplanned meetings, etc. distressed my timeline. Now I do things on a weekly basis which keeps me organized, but I have some flexibility in my schedule.

5) I cut out articles, content, tools that I find in magazines, etc. and tape them into my journal. Sometimes the content is for me, other times it is helpful to my clients. But once it is in my journal, then I always have a reference point.

6) Graphic concepts. I keep a box of watercolor colored pencils in my journal “pouch”. When I have a brainstorm on a concept, I often will draw out the idea. It has helped me sketch out more than one web design, ad, brochure, etc.

7) Business cards of contacts I meet — or notes from connections I make through the social media. I'm a huge fan of actually connecting on a personal level with the people I meet through the social media. I take notes on what they do so if I need something later on (or one of my clients does) I have a record! It also helps me keep notes on my contacts on LinkedIn so that I have all of my information at my fingertips.

8) Legal stuff. Sometimes things change in our world — like how many organizations are blocking social media, or how social media can impact business relationships. I jot down those notes to make sure that if I need to reference it for a client, I have the data available. (It also helps me educate my attorney clients who need me to update them on the trends of ecommerce, web marketing, social media, etc.)

9) My kids. I let me kids draw, write notes in my journal. It's been fun to peek back into my journals and see how my kids change over the years. It is also nice when I'm traveling to see my kids handy work!

10) Prayer requests. While not applicable to everyone, I am a firm believer in starting the day in prayer. I keep my journal handy to know what I need to pray about, people who have asked or need prayer, and of course all the things I need to praise.

My grandfather who passed away 2 years ago had nearly 80 years of his “pocket” journals. They are now some of the most precious things my mom has from her family. They are riddled with trivia, note births and deaths, and are interesting to see that the cost of milk at one point was less than 50 cents!

The biggest thing that has helped me become more productive is to tag given tasks with a deadline, and then race to meet them (even for the smallest tasks).

Use of my journal continues to evolve. I recently setup a separate journal to write down things I learn at a conference, webinar, ebook, or given continuing education content.

That what you had in mind?

Thanks for chiming in.

Others? Comments? Ideas?

You always have such golden nuggets. I've been doing this stuff for over a decade and I still find myself learning tons and tons from you. I also appreciate that I “hear” your personality in your writing. Hey, great writers always know how to be themselves. Now if we could only teach everyone that….

My only suggestion to you is that it might be helpful if you broke up each one of your 12 lessons a bit more and elaborated on them. Some folks, for example, might not be aware of the business journal concept. My journal isn't so fashionable as your's but I haul mine around as if it is literally attached to me and couldn't imagine trying to remember everything without it. But then again, I'm getting old and forgetful as well!

What do you “do” in your business journal? Do you allocate a certain amount of time each week to do some free brainstorming for YOUR business? How to you use your journal to keep more productive, develop new strategies, keep notes of testing and results, etc.? You know, that kind of thing.

I wish you only the best for another 12 months times 1000! :) You have great stuff Travis, so keep up the good work!

I feel one of the most valuable things I've re-learned this year is simply the importance of enjoying life. I've taken up the sport of windsurfing and am loving it, and lately I've gotten into kayak fishing with my son.

So one of the biggest things I've learned about internet marketing this year is that it's pointless unless you also have a life in the real world.

Keep up the good work.