Tracking. Not talking about racetrack afficionados. I’m referring to a type of information that may have been living in your head that would be much better suited for a page in your reference binder. Take an example of a general contractor who has continuing education requirements to maintain certifications.

Fred is a green builder so in addition to the regular contractor certifications to stay up on, he has green building ones as well. He recently received an annual renewal notice with the dreaded request for continuing education credits reporting. Why dreaded? The year flew by and he didn’t sign up for and take enough courses.

How can this process be easier next year? We create a simple form that includes:

• name of the licensing body, for ex. Green Builders,
• number of credits required,
• sources of classes offered,
• space to list the classes signed up for & dates completed

A file with the named “Green Builders - certification” would be the storage place for class documentation.

Repeat for each licensing organization.

And finally, drop a note in the Take Action folder to check in on his class sign up situation at the beginning of each quarter.