How I do My Job

From the first job that I had out of college I have been using a technique that I have found to be very beneficial in helping me to succeed. It all started when I asked my lead how to do something for the third time and realized that I shouldn't have to do that. It was wasting both our times.

It's a pretty simple technique, but I haven't found many people who do it. I call it writing down what I do. Catchy name huh? Basically I just start documenting each task.

Things I focus on:

1. Step by step instructions. I get as specific as I can for each task. Even down to specific button presses. I add pictures and diagrams as needed to make sure that every step is clear.
2. Explanations where needed. Sometimes certain parts of a process don't make a lot of sense, so I add notes to explain why it needs to be done that way.
3. Solutions to problems. Any process has problems that pop up due to mistakes or because things just don't always work right. I add notes outlining how to identify the problems and what needs to be done to fix it.
4. User friendly formatting. This is a document made to be referenced so I try to make it as pretty and visually simple as possible. 
5. References to any related documentation or policies etc. This is especially important in a more corporate environment. But any kind of reference materials that might come in useful are helpful to list.

It takes a good deal of time to build up a document like this. It will slow you down at doing your job. However, once you have it you will have learned your job well, you will avoid having to re-ask questions, and it makes training a new person a ton easier.

At my last job I was able to give the new guy my "how to do my job" document and he was able to pick the tasks up with minimal follow up from me in a very short period of time. It was so nice.