Now that you’ve got your journal set up, the next stage of the process is to start writing it. The first thing you need to do is make sure that you turn it into a habit.
Make it a Habit
Turning things you do in to habits is not that hard really. You simply need to make sure that you journal every day – whether you feel like it or not. Try to do it at the same time each day and choose a time when you won’t be interrupted. If you are wanting to journal to improve professionally – at work for instance – then it would be good to write it at the end of the day. This way you can reflect on what’s happened in the day, how you felt about it and what you think you could learn from it. But, if you really don’t like the idea of writing it after you’ve finished work, don’t be afraid to choose another time – it’s more important that you choose a time you’ll be able to stick to.
I know this can be hard, especially if there’s no one breathing down your neck, making you do it each day. But, once you’re into a routine, you’ll soon find that you start to feel odd if you miss a day.
Go Slowly
How much you choose to write is up to you. Don’t think that you need to produce pages and pages of writing. Start off with half a page or write for 10 minutes and see how that works for you. Sometimes, if you’ve had a particularly tough day, for example, you may want to write much more and some days you may only feel like writing a couple of line.
Another tip is to not worry about how good the writing is. Don’t stop to correct grammar or spelling, just let the words flow out. Stopping could break your stream of thought and you could forget something that’s really important for your professional development.
Be Truthful
The purpose of journaling is to allow you to look at your own behaviour in certain situations. So, you need to be really truthful about how you are performing, how you react to situations and other people. Only by doing this will you truly learn about yourself and progress. It can be hard to be really truthful, especially if you feel you’ve done something wrong. It’s only normal to defend how you acted and you may find you try to find excuses for your behaviour. But, if you do this you’ll not learn anything or move forward. So, be harsh with yourself and try to see things how they really are. If you struggle with this, you could ask someone else what they think about you, but don’t be upset if they say something you don’t like. And remember, no-one has to see your journal if you don’t want them to.
Be Positive
When you’ve had a really bad day, it’s useful to think of something positive you can take from it. Even if it’s only something minor, like you managed to call back a customer when you said you would. Or, you stayed calm in a situation that would have, on other occasions, seen you getting upset.
Take Time to Reflect
Now that you’ve got all this information you need to do something with it. To be effective at journaling you need to combine the narrative you write with critical thinking. You should think about what you’ve learned and how you can change negative behaviours.
To help you get the most out of journaling, think about the following questions as you write:
• What’s happened since the last entry?
• Have you learned anything since you last wrote in your journal?
• Have you made any mistakes that you can think of?
• If you were allowed to repeat a recent event, how would you do things differently?
If you think you might need a little more help remembering what to write about, why not use this handy little Aide-Memoire download from Mindtools. So, that’s about it. Try it for at least a month if you want to get the benefits and do let us know how you get on.
Written by Shelley Bowers
