It turns out that taking just five minutes a day to document your work progress and feelings can have a powerful impact. After analyzing over 238 diaries from happy workers, Teresa Amabile, at the 99u Conference, shares key takeaways for staying motivated at work, including the importance of measuring progress, documenting challenges, and taking time to reflect.

Teresa Amabile is a professor and director of research at Harvard Business School, and coauthor of The Progress Principle. A psychologist, Teresa studies how everyday work life can influence people and their performance. Her research encompasses creativity, productivity, innovation, and inner work life — the confluence of emotions, perceptions, and motivation that people experience as they react to events at work.