I have a difficult time creating new habits - maybe you are the same? I've tried to create a journaling habit on many occasions, but it never 'stuck.' Habit formation is crucial to the work journaling process.

Yes, it's true that the physical act of writing things down has serious benefits, but I'd like to convince you why an online work journal app may be a better pick. This next section may be a bit controversial, but I prefer an online work journal vs. I frequently don't even realize how much progress has been made until I look back a week or two. I've found that work journaling is a great way to remember the past and see how much things have progressed. Personally, I tend to be impatient at work. It’s the most cost-effective therapy I’ve ever found.” - Tim Ferris The pages aren’t intended for anyone but me. “I don’t journal to ‘be productive.’ I don’t do it to find great ideas or to put down prose I can later publish. It increases the probability that you will reach your goals.It's a great way to document your decision-making process.Writing is a great way to remember how far you've progressed in your career.Writing in a journal enhances reflection (according to research).There are a variety of benefits to keeping a work journal. Maybe you have time for both of these activities? The benefits to keeping a work journal

In the morning, I typically have about 30 minutes to myself, which is when I will journal. I've found both of these approaches to be valuable, but you need to find a solution that integrates with your everyday life. The goal with this approach is to be reflective, sifting through your day and discovering ways that you can improve tomorrow. Evening: ReflectiveĪnother approach is to reflect on your day after the work is done. It's not about documenting everything you do that day, but instead, it's about identifying the right things and what would make the day successful. This process is future-focused and aims to align the work that you do over the next eight hours. Unlike todo-lists (which can be noisy and tactical), a work journal aims to identify 2-3 top priorities. As you might imagine, the questions are focused on what high-priority items you plan on completing in the upcoming day. Morning: Forward-lookingįirstly, you can fill out an entry in the morning, ideally before you start work. There are two common flavors of a work journal, listed below. While this can be difficult to avoid, a work journal forces you to be more thoughtful about how you work on a daily basis. Instead of being proactive and planning your day, you react to whatever lands in your email inbox. personal life.Īt work, it's easy to be reactive. Unlike other journaling methods, the questions and prompts are geared towards your work experience vs.

Work journal questions & writing promptsĪ work journal is a structured, re-occurring way to document, reflect, and improve your decision-making at work.

What are the benefits of a work journal?.

We're going to cover the following topic areas in the rest of this post: In this post, I'm going to discuss the benefits of a daily writing/journaling habit for work. I'd like to introduce you to the idea of keeping a work journal. PS: Friday offers a digital bullet journal-style format to help you get better at what you do + a planner you can use for work What if I told you there was a simple way to improve the way you work in less than ten minutes per day? What if this method could help you be a bit more mindful, reduce stress, and improve your decision making? What if this method didn't require any costly changes, but instead, was a simple change in your behavior?

Work journal app