#DocumentationIsKey #RecordEverything #TakeBackPower
In any situation where you might face conflict, whether it be at work, school, or in your personal life, documenting negative experiences is crucial. By keeping a detailed record of what happened, you can protect yourself and have a clear account of the events. So, here’s why you should always document rather than argue:
đź“ť **Why Documenting is Important**
– **Protect Yourself**: Having a detailed record can protect you from gaslighting or manipulation.
– **Evidence**: Documentation can serve as evidence in case you need to take further action.
– **Pattern Recognition**: By documenting multiple incidents, you can identify patterns of behavior.
– **Emotional Clarity**: Writing down the details can help you process your emotions and thoughts.
đź“ť **How to Document**
1. **Date and Time**: Always note the date and time of the incident.
2. **Person**: Write down the names of the individuals involved.
3. **Location**: Include where the incident took place.
4. **Circumstance**: Describe the situation leading up to the event.
5. **What Happened**: Be as specific as possible when detailing the encounter.
– Use quotation marks to capture exact phrases.
đź“ť **Example of Documentation**
“On 1/7/24, Sally Smith pointed at my stomach, called me “fat,” and started laughing. Then on 2/4/24, she…”
đź“ť **Benefits of Documentation**
– **Empowerment**: Documenting the details can make you feel like you’ve taken back some power.
– **Ready for Action**: When you are ready to address the issue, all the information will be available.
– **Accuracy**: Avoid relying on memory, which can be fallible.
đź“ť **When to Document**
– **In the Moment**: Document the details while they are still fresh in your mind.
– **Pattern Recognition**: Keep track of recurring negative experiences.
– **Queue for Action**: Prepare yourself for when you are ready to take further steps.
In conclusion, documenting rather than arguing is a powerful tool in any conflict situation. It allows you to have a clear account of events, protect yourself, and be prepared for any future actions. So, next time you face a negative experience, open that document on your phone and start recording. You never know when it might come in handy. #DocumentNotArgue #TakeCharge #ProtectYourself.
Mhmm. Ok. Go on…
Remember a couple weeks back the husband that documented all the times his wife said no to sex? This won’t always work as intended
This is the epitome of passive aggressive.Â
Wish i knew this about 8 months ago
This is great advice in an environment where you are being gaslit and brushed aside.
I wouldn’t say suffer in silence. Stockpiling grievances without trying to fix or address them won’t be helpful. Communication is key and if that doesn’t work, document.
nah, that’s how you become a psychopath
If you keep quiet and document you’ll feel like the eternal victim and it will all burst at once
If you’re being wronged, be loud about it, but think whether it’s something worth fighting for or not
I had a negative retail experience 5 times in a row. Each bad deal resulted in a return, promises, lies, failure, and offers of deals to keep me on the hook. I was always nice, I never argued, and I chose to give them the benefit of the doubt. It went on for over a year. I documented everything and held that mirror up to them at the highest level person I could reach. They blamed me and put a note on my file that I am a problem customer who returns shit a lot. We don’t do a lot of business now. I’d do none, but we live in an oligopoly world.
I wish I was making this up.
When you reveal to others that you document everythin, you demonstrate that you are litigious and can’t be trusted. If this documentation were brought to my attention in a work setting, I would fire the offending employee first, wait, then fire the employee who made the documentation without hesitation and with the full support of the executive team. No one likes a rat.
I document by sending an email with my concerns to someone higher up with the full understanding it will probably be ignored. If shit hits the fan, I tried and here’s proof.
I would highly recommend making sure that this is only done if there is a pattern or the behavior is egregious. I would also recommend listing any witnesses or potential witnesses.
I think involving a manager from the beginning is a good idea as well as soon as you notice a pattern in this type of behavior. If you sit on everything and bring up 10 dates, times, and locations where Sally was mean to you from weeks ago, the first question is going to be, “Why didn’t you tell me then?” and it will just look like you’re making things up to cause a conflict OR it’s going to give the impression that it wasn’t a big enough deal to bring to a manager but now it is? It will immediately make them think that it isn’t really that important (even if it is!)
>When bad things happen, it might take you a while to feel ready to do something about it.
This is understandable as to my last point I just made, but I do highly recommend letting a manager know sooner rather than later. When something like this has been brought to me as it is occurring, I try to be more aware if Sally and Sue are working together and observing any interactions to see if I can verify if Sally’s issues are genuine and stop it right then and there.
Additionally, if you don’t get immediate action or at least you don’t see any resolution within a few days to a week, begin the open door process if your company has one. Just an example, when I was a cart pusher at Walmart, I had two other cart pushers that would literally sit down and play on their phones outside of the view of the cameras and do nothing. I would record dates, times, and locations and give them to my supervisor who gave them to his supervisor who gave them to his manager. But weeks went by and nothing came of it – they were still doing it. One day, I snapped and went into the manager’s office, pulled a manager in the room, shut the door, and went off (respectfully, but I was purple in the face according to one of the other managers lol) about these other cart pushers that weren’t doing anything and I was busting my ass. I told him everything that happened and that I was giving dates, times, and locations to my supervisor for the managers to act on. He said he was unaware of the issue, but he’d look into it for me. My boss backed me up and said, “Yeah, he’s been bringing us dates, times, locations, I pass it up at the manager meetings, but we haven’t heard anything.” A week or two later, they’re both gone – one fired for theft and the other quit after being coached for productivity.
And finally, leave a paper trail when you do report. Ask for an official company email that you can send the information to. Make sure it is professional in nature – people automatically tend to not take things seriously if you send an email like a text like “sally was mean 2 me n i think thats unaceptable”… if you do that, they are definitely not going to take your complaint as seriously as they should.
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I see 2 effects from this, first is you have your documented evidence of the occurrences of the bullying, abuse, or mistreatment. Second, if you look back you might just be mentally highlighting individual occurrences. Not saying you weren’t treated wrongly, but things might not be as bad as you think.
Paper trail, always make a paper trail.
I did this at work when they were actively trying to dismiss me constructively. I then let someone whom I knew was a blabbermouth know and what do you know, it stopped—horrible people.
How my document work without proof?
Isn’t this how a uhm.. “hit list” starts??
Also, remember that you’ve got a camera. Take photos of relevant documents, damaged items, injuries, whatever the issue is, there’s a good chance there’s something you can photograph to legitimize your complaint.
Opens Google Notes, “Serious Injury List: Charlie Babbitt squeezed pulled and hurt my neck in 1988”
Thought for a good few seconds that this was going to be about how to avoid arguing with a .doc file.
My wife is going to love this!
What a true cancer Karen person advise. Making the world a worse cancel-culture place. 👎🏼
The only thing that you’re missing with this advice is that you need to document your attempts to address the issue as well.
Especially with Healthcare. Sad you have to be the squeaky wheel to get basic care. Currently dealing with this now with my insurance. Got prescribed an anitpsychotic, and the insurance company denied my prior authorization. Could prolong my medication care anywhere from 3 days to a month dealing with my appeal process.
This shit right here is why folks veer away from mental health care. You run into walls constantly by insurance companies. I’ve been dealing with it for years. Demoralizing.
I’m documenting every bit of it.
Sgt Angel – *”You’re playing the male lead in an homage to Shakespeares’ Romeo and Juliet and you’re late for the dress rehearsal. You think this is sufficient reason to travel 48 in a 30 zone?”*
They are called a memorandum of record in the military and are used all the time. James Comey used them when dealing with Trump.
Oof. Imagine going around constantly documenting negative experiences. What a life that must be.