For those who are near a computer pretty much throughout the day and and need to keep a running records of phone calls fielded or any other type of journal info, this tip may be just hit the spot.

I can’t remember where I originally saw this idea. The best I could find through a Google search was this page (Scroll about half-way down the page.), and since I do subscribe to that magazine, that’s probably where I saw it.

The idea is known as the “Captain’s Log,” and it makes use of the Notepad accessory that comes with Windows. On Windows XP, go to Start>All Programs>Accessories>Notepad. Open Notepad and type “.LOG” (without the quotation marks and in all caps) on the first line and then hit a couple of times. Save the file on the desktop with an appropriate name. I like “Captains Log.”

Every time you open the file, the current date and time will be displayed on your document. Enter your documentation and save.