What is Work Log:
The work log is a notebook in which people make notes, sketches or records of important or interesting data in the development of a job or project.
Work logs have their origin in the travel notebooks used by sailors on their long maritime journeys.
In these notebooks, all the events that occurred during navigation were noted, such as, for example, the occurrence of storms or changes in sea currents, cartographic drawings, the routes taken or the attacks suffered throughout the trip.
These notebooks were kept in a logbook, a type of wooden chest, along with maps and other navigation instruments.
In this way, the annotations were prevented from being lost or suffering any type of damage that could lead to the loss of valuable information. Over time, the notebook was designated as a work log.
Currently, the work log is a support material in which the chronological order of the progress of a project is followed.
In this, annotations, sketches or records of information are made continuously to describe how the development of an activity has been or the progress of a particular design.
Likewise, the details of progress, obstacles, observations, new ideas, among other information of interest that arise during a specific job are recorded in the work log.
That is, the exact conditions under which a job was carried out are made known; errors are even recorded and indicated; they should not be deleted or the page in question should be removed. The correct thing to do is to place a typo and clarify the information, because sometimes errors can be useful.
It is of utmost importance that the work log shows the development of the work or sketch as it was carried out and without altering its order.
Designers, artists and scientists, among others, make extensive use of work logs. In this way they record the progress of their work, and you can see more clearly and share what these processes were like.
Parts of a work log
A work log contains numbered pages and margins to record subsequent observations or errata. A work log can be made up of the following parts:
Front page
It is located on the first page of the notebook or notebook. In this, the name of the project or work and the name of the author or authors are placed.
table of Contents
It refers to the activities to be carried out during work. However, as in general it is not clear what all the activities to be carried out will be, this content will be written as the project progresses.
Procedures or workspace
It is the most extensive section of the work log and is made up of the pages where notes or sketches of the procedures carried out throughout the work are made.
These pages contain the date, objectives, methodology, detailed information on the work carried out and the stage it is in, as well as observations and results.
Bibliography or directory
The bibliographic references consulted are included, and the tools or instruments used are even mentioned depending on the work done.
Work log example
Below is a brief example of a work log:
Monday, November 19, 2018: I received a new project from the company director to design a four-story building in a wooded area on the outskirts of the city. Once I had read the objectives of the project, I went to the construction site to observe and get to know the space.
Clarification typo: Before heading to the site of the future construction I had a brief meeting with the director of the company to clarify some points of the project.
Tuesday, November 20, 2018: I contacted several suppliers of construction materials and a team of workers with experience and good reputation.
Wednesday, November 21, 2018: I began to draw the first lines of the sketch of the building to be built. I worked between 9:00 am and 18:00 pm, taking several breaks.
See also Logbook.