One of the best pieces of career advice I've seen on the internet is also probably one of the easiest to actually start doing.

Every Friday, write down what you accomplished at work that week.

That's it.

Send yourself an email. Keep a running document. Put it in your Notes app. Make a spreadsheet if you're that kind of person. I don't really care where you put it.

Just keep track of what you're doing.

Because there's a pretty good chance that six months from now, you're not going to remember half of it.

You're Going to Forget More Than You Think

Think about what you were working on three Tuesdays ago.

Do you remember?

Maybe you remember the big project. But do you remember the smaller problem you solved? The presentation you helped with? The client conversation that went really well? The extra responsibility you took on? The thing your boss specifically complimented you on?

Probably not all of it.

That's the problem.

When you're working every day, one project immediately turns into the next one. Something that felt incredibly important on Monday can be completely out of your head by the following month.

Then your performance review comes around and your boss asks what you're most proud of accomplishing over the past six months.

And suddenly you're trying to reconstruct half a year of your life from memory.

You don't have to do that.

Keep Your Own Receipts

The advice I found online was specifically to send yourself an email every Friday recapping what you worked on and any accomplishments from that week.

I love that idea.

“It's also a great way to share what you're working on so people know your value and what you're doing.”

I would actually take it one step further.

Keep track of two things:

What did I accomplish this week?

What am I working on next week?

Now you have a running record of what you've done and what you're responsible for next.

That becomes useful almost immediately.

Your boss asks what you're working on? You know.

You have a one-on-one? You have something to reference.

You're planning your week? You've already written down your priorities.

And eventually, that little document becomes a record of your career.

It Makes Performance Reviews So Much Easier

Performance reviews shouldn't begin with you staring at a blank document thinking, What the hell did I do this year?

You've already done the work.

You should have the receipts.

If you've been tracking your accomplishments every week, you can go back through your document and identify your biggest contributions.

Maybe you brought in a new client. Maybe you increased something. Maybe you took ownership of a project. Maybe you started managing someone. Maybe you solved a problem that had been sitting around forever.

Now you're not walking into your review saying, "I feel like I've done a lot this year."

You can show what you've actually done.

Harvard Business Review explains that effective performance reviews should evaluate past performance while also looking at future development. Having your own record gives you concrete examples to bring into that conversation instead of relying on you or your manager to remember everything.

And I wouldn't assume your manager remembers everything either.

They have their own work. They might manage multiple people. They're not necessarily keeping a mental list of every great thing you've done for the past year.

Help them remember.

It Gives You Evidence When You Want a Raise

This is where keeping track of your accomplishments can become even more valuable.

Eventually, you might want more money.

And "I've been here for a year" isn't always going to be the strongest argument for why you should get it.

Your value is a much better argument.

What have you taken on since you started? What have you improved? Where have you gone beyond your original responsibilities? What results have you produced?

If you've documented those things as they've happened, you have a much stronger case.

Instead of trying to convince your boss that you feel like you've become more valuable, you can demonstrate how.

That's a much better conversation to have.

It Makes Updating Your Resume Way Easier

I think everybody should update their resume somewhat regularly, even when they're not actively looking for another job.

But almost nobody wants to do that.

One of the hardest parts is remembering everything you've done since the last time you updated it.

If you've been keeping track of your accomplishments, that problem basically disappears.

“When you get to the point, and if you get to the point where you're like, fuck, I need to get a new job or I want to get a new job... you have a completed list and a full picture of everything you've done.”

You don't need all 100 things you've written down to go onto your resume.

That's not the point.

You have the raw material.

You can go through everything and pick the projects that had the biggest impact, the responsibilities that best represent your role, and the accomplishments that would matter most to another employer.

If you're early in your career and trying to figure out what actually belongs on your resume, What Actually Matters at Your First Job? is a good place to start.

You Start Seeing What You're Actually Good At

This is the part of the advice that I think gets overlooked.

Tracking your work isn't only useful when you need to prove something to somebody else.

It's useful for you.

After six months or a year, go back through what you've written.

What keeps showing up?

Maybe you constantly volunteered for projects involving partnerships. Maybe you loved writing presentations. Maybe you kept getting pulled into strategy meetings. Maybe you were really good with clients. Maybe you realized you absolutely hated one entire part of your job.

That's information.

“You can kind of look at everything you have done and kind of parse out like the best things you've done, the things you like the best, the things you were best at.”

Your career interests aren't always going to reveal themselves through some massive realization where you suddenly know exactly what you want to do with your life.

Sometimes you figure them out by looking backward.

You notice the things you keep gravitating toward.

That's one of the ideas behind How To Figure Out What You Want to Do With Your Life. You don't necessarily need to know exactly where you're going. Pay attention to what you've already learned about yourself.

Your Accomplishments Show You How Much You've Grown

There's another benefit that has nothing to do with promotions or resumes.

Sometimes it's nice to remind yourself that you're actually making progress.

When you're in the middle of your career, it can feel like you're doing the same thing every day.

Wake up. Go to work. Answer emails. Sit in meetings. Do your job. Go home. Repeat.

You don't necessarily notice yourself getting better.

But look at what you were responsible for a year ago compared with what you're responsible for now.

Maybe the project that terrified you last year is routine now.

Maybe you're doing something by yourself that you once needed your manager to walk you through.

Maybe you're responsible for things you weren't even allowed to touch when you started.

Keeping a record gives you a way to actually see that growth.

Don't Rely on Your Company to Do This for You

Some companies have great systems for tracking goals and accomplishments.

Others don't.

At my first job, we had a practice where everyone would share three things they accomplished that week and three things they were working on the following week.

I loved it.

It created transparency around what everybody was doing and made it easier to understand how your work connected with everyone else's.

Eventually, we stopped doing it.

And looking back, I kind of wish I had continued on my own.

Your company might change its performance review system. You might get a new manager. Your team might stop doing weekly updates. Your role might completely change.

You can still maintain your own record.

The U.S. Department of Labor's CareerOneStop recommends tailoring your resume around relevant skills and accomplishments. That's considerably easier when you've been documenting those accomplishments instead of trying to remember them years later.

Don't wait until you need the information to start collecting it.

Make It Ridiculously Easy

The biggest mistake you could make with this advice is turning it into another complicated productivity system you abandon after two weeks.

Don't.

You don't need a color-coded spreadsheet with 17 categories.

Open a document.

Write the date.

Then write:

This week:

• Finished X

• Helped with Y

• Improved Z

Next week:

• Start A

• Finish B

• Meet with C

Done.

It can take five minutes.

You could even put a recurring five-minute block on your calendar every Friday afternoon.

The system doesn't matter nearly as much as actually doing it.

Don't Only Track the Huge Wins

Your accomplishment tracker doesn't need to be a highlight reel.

Put smaller things in there too.

If you learned a new skill, write it down.

If you helped a coworker, write it down.

If you presented in a meeting for the first time, write it down.

If you received really good feedback from your boss, write it down.

If you took responsibility for something new, write it down.

You can decide later what's important.

The point right now is to create the record.

As you get further into your career, some of those seemingly small moments might become the exact evidence you need to show how your responsibilities have grown.

Indeed's career guide also recommends focusing on measurable achievements when describing your work experience, which is another reason to record results while they're still fresh.

If something you did produced a number, percentage, revenue figure, audience increase, cost reduction, or other measurable result, write that number down now.

You're definitely not going to remember it two years from now.

And Here's The Thing

This is one of those pieces of career advice that is almost too simple.

There's no complicated strategy.

You don't need a course.

You don't need to completely change the way you work.

You need five minutes.

Once a week.

Write down what you did.

Because your accomplishments aren't only useful in the moment. They become evidence of what you're capable of, material for your resume, leverage in conversations about raises and promotions, and clues about what you might want to do next.

You already did the hard part.

You did the work.

Keep a record of it.

Frequently Asked Questions

How should I track my accomplishments at work?

Keep a simple running document, note, spreadsheet, or weekly email to yourself with your biggest accomplishments and responsibilities.

How often should I update my accomplishment tracker?

Once a week is ideal. Spending five minutes every Friday makes it much easier to remember what you actually did.

What accomplishments should I track?

Track completed projects, measurable results, new responsibilities, positive feedback, problems you solved, and new skills you've developed.

Why should I track my work accomplishments?

They can help with performance reviews, raise and promotion conversations, resume updates, job searches, and understanding your own career growth.

Should I keep track even if I'm not looking for a new job?

Yes. It's much easier to document your accomplishments as they happen than to reconstruct months or years of work when you suddenly need them.