The columns
Use directory name, submit date, status, live link, login used and notes. Status has four values: submitted, in review, live, rejected.
Add a link to a screenshot of each live listing. Directories redesign and listings move, and the screenshot is your record.
Check back twice
Look at pending listings after two weeks and again after six. Some directories approve without telling you, and some ask a follow-up question by email that is easy to miss.
Add a tag to your links
Where a directory lets you set the URL, add a UTM tag with the directory's name. Your analytics will then show which listings send visitors.