Sticky Notes Upgrade: A Better Job Search Tracker

One of the first things people do after a layoff? They grab a notepad or pad of sticky notes and start writing things down.

Company names. Application links. Recruiter names. Follow-up reminders.

For a day or two, it feels organized.But then the notes pile up. Emails get buried. Follow-ups fall through the cracks.And the stress starts to snowball.

It’s a pattern I’ve seen play out again and again.

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Tools taken for granted.

In my last corporate job, I had every tool imaginable.

Microsoft Teams for chats. Outlook for scheduling. SharePoint for files. Asana for projects. It was structured—almost to a fault.

All those systems disappeared when I was laid off. But the complexity of my day didn’t.

Now I was juggling:

• Job applications
• Follow-up emails
• Recruiter messages
• Workshops
• Interview prep

And I had no system to manage it all.

Not only is drafting our resume for the 4th time difficult, but so is managing our time and focus.

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What doesn’t work:

• A fresh notebook
• A pack of sticky notes
• A digital to-do list that quickly gets buried
• An inbox overflowing with “confirmation” emails from 10+ job boards

None of it’s connected. None of it’s trackable.

And none of it holds you accountable.

What starts as “organized chaos” turns into just... chaos.

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Why doesn’t that work?

Because our minds weren’t built to remember everything.

As productivity expert David Allen said in Getting Things Done,

“Your mind is for having ideas, not holding them.”

When you try to track your job search in your head—or across 12 scraps of paper—you will miss things.

You’ll forget:

• Which recruiter you were supposed to follow up with
• What company ghosted you (and when)
• Which roles are actually worth applying to again

Worse? You’ll question whether you’re making progress.

Because if you’re not tracking anything, you’re not learning anything.

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So how do I solve it?

I built a Job Transition Tracker—a simple spreadsheet you can download for free.

👉  Download your copy here.

No bells. No whistles. No learning curve.

Just a trusted system to help you manage:

• What you applied to
• Who you reached out to
• When to follow up
• What’s in motion vs. what’s stalled
• Daily actions across your LAND Routine (Learn, Apply, Network, Defend)

Other platforms exist, sure.

But when your brain is fried and you’re questioning everything, simplicity wins.

Use a system you’ll actually stick with.

Review it daily. Reflect on it weekly.

Let it hold the detail so you can focus on the big moves.

Three takeaways:

1. Sticky notes are temporary. Your job search isn’t.‍
   You need a sustainable system, not scattered scraps of paper.
2. ‍Your mind is for thinking, not storing.
   Offload the mental clutter into a tracker that works for you.‍
3. Progress is visible when it’s tracked.
   A clear log of your actions helps you adjust, improve, and stay consistent.

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