A journal of professional practice can easily turn into a superpower at work.
One of the things I know to be true is that there’s hardly ever a perfect moment when everything is done, your inbox is empty and the ocean of professional life is lies calm and still in front of you; giving you space and time to reset.
The closest I ever got to the ideal blank slate day is the start of a new academic year, the season of new pencil cases and school starts. It’s my favourite time of year, and I love making plans for the year ahead… which usually turn out to be busy, ambitious and a lot to accomplish.
I love the perspective it gives me, looking at the year ahead, and planning for all the things I’d like to do, at work and in my personal life. What I’d ideally like is moments of that “blank slate’ feeling or that start of term vibe throughout the year, prompting me to pause and reflect.
For over two decades, I have used different forms of professional journalling to create just those moments for myself, and post is an invitation to try out some new approaches to this fundamental practice.
If you’re not a fan of writing, read on, as I have included some approaches below that use voice recording, conversational reflection and drawing, too and I talk more about this on the podcast episode about this leadership superpower.
Keep a journal your way
Writing Journals
There is no shortage of journalling inspiration out there: beautiful paper journals complete with prompts and templates, journalling techniques designed to help you reflect, develop gratitude or promote mindfulness and a plethora of apps designed to help you stick with the habits.
I don’t think it matters how you journal, and any way that works for you is valid.
Over the years I have come to value:
- handwriting because it slows down my thinking and helps me focus;
- being open and honest with myself, no matter what I end up writing and not giving into the temptation to self-edit;
- changing formats to suit what’s on my mind, i.e. from completely private to sharing with specific colleagues to publishing openly.
Voice Journals
f you’re curious about using your voice for professional journalling, this activity is for you: use your phone or another device to make a voice recording (you don’t even need to transcribe or save the recording for it to be useful. It’s the recording practice that’s important).
Dictation can help you practice articulating your thoughts to someone else as well as to yourself. It also improves self realisation in my case. For example, the other day I felt angry about something and when I said it out loud I realised how angry I really was. It helped me reflect and understand more fully how I felt. The feelings dissipated quickly, but the realisation stayed with me.
Check out this blog post in which I have given further examples and ideas.
Visual Journals
I love the idea of visual journals, and for a couple of years I used little notebooks to make a simple black and white drawing every day. If doodling, sketching, or visually journalling about your days appeals to you, you might like to take a look at Bryan Mather’s approach using REFLECTO-GLYPHS 🙂 .