Write things down

15th September 2011

If I had a penny for the times I’ve been told “Oh I don’t need to write that down, I have it all in my head”, I wouldn’t exactly be a rich man, but I would certainly have a lot of pennies. You may say, “and what is wrong with that?” and I suppose the answer is “nothing”, however, the enhanced value of writing things down can be manyfold.

On a very basic level, writing things down helps you remember things. Often when I am coaching people initially they don’t write things down because they tell me they don’t need to, and of course when it comes to the next session invariably they will have forgotten half the actions they should have taken. In reality it gives them an excuse not to do the things they agreed to, but I have to let them find this out for themselves, before I encourage them, and then insist they make proper notes.

At a deeper level, for example when setting goals, having everything in your head, allows you to have dreams, but not true goals which you really want to achieve. Not writing your goals down again gives you an excuse not to do things, and prevents yourself and others from holding you accountable. A goal in your head is generally speaking not a true goal, and is unlikely to ever be achieved.

Recently when I had written up a report for one of my clients which summarised their business and personal goals, and highlighted the weaknesses of the business which needed to be worked on, it really came home to me, the importance of putting things down in writing, and the power it can have. The wife of the client I was working for had been a bit skeptical about the whole process until I presented her with the report. She said she was in tears while reading it, and although she was essentially simply reading what she had already told me, she hadn’t realised how badly things had gone wrong, until she saw it in black and white on the page in front of her.

So next time you are thinking about issues in your business (or issues in your personal life) why not write them down and see them for what they really are. Then maybe you will find it easier to do something about them.

---

Comments are closed.