Writing About Yourself

Over the past year, I have had plenty of opportunities to write about myself and I don’t like it. I find it extremely difficult to do. With the second of self assessment done, rewrote the about me section of this blog a number of times and writing up a bio for a speaking engagement; each and everyone of them necessary evils that needed to be done. Do you find these activities a struggle? I know I do. Each of them have a different purpose, but they all have one thing in common – me. I find them uncomfortable to write. The self assessment is something that I have had to do now for 26 years. You would think I should be good at it, well I am not.  Writing about me comes off as bragging and somewhat self serving. I know, I should just suck it up and do my best work. Still does not make it any easier to do.

So, what do I do to make it a bit less painful? Some of my tips/tricks.

• Documentation– make sure that you have plenty. As a manager, I have to keep documentation on my direct reports. Why not myself? Treat yourself no different than one of your employee’s. Keep your records, keep your email thank-yous, awards and anything that will help define your work.
• Make Lists – sit down with the documentation and start a list of accomplishments, feedback, awards and whatever else is in your folder. This will help to form what will be written. Sort of like a brainstorm list for writing.
• Put yourself in a good state of mind – insure that you are feeling good, have plenty of time to focus and there are no distractions (people or work). Having a “good” day helps. If you wait till the last minute, you will feel rushed and the writing will show it.
• Give Examples – here is where the documentation is very handy. Make sure to call out the specific examples, involvement you played and the impact. 
• Be Objective– when reviewing the documentation and reviewing the rough draft, be objective on everything. In my case, I am overly critical, sometimes too much. Look at the impact – answer the “so what” question. Be real. While spending time reviewing, pay close attention to the tune of the messages.

Writing about yourself may come easy to some, but not me. I have to work at it more-so for myself than my direct reports. I have little to no difficulty writing about them. Do you have any tips/tricks to help you with writing about you?