Get Creative with Your Journaling

Journaling is one of the best ways to document your hopes and dreams for your business and your personal life. Still, so many people cringe at the idea of putting their thoughts down on paper. Some equate all journaling with keeping a diary and they don’t want to revert back to their 10-year-old self. Others worry about keeping a journal secret or prevent themselves from being honest and vulnerable for fear that others will read their words.

Are these fears weighing on your mind? Don’t talk yourself out of experiencing the power of journaling; the benefits certainly outweigh the likelihood of someone finding your journals and passing judgment. Like anything else in life, you need to find a form of journaling that works for you and that you enjoy doing; otherwise you won’t incorporate the habit into your daily routine and will miss out on its many benefits.

Benefits of Journaling

The biggest benefit of journaling is to dump all your ideas and dreams onto paper so your mind remains clear and ready to focus on your action steps. If you want to achieve your goals and dreams, taking action is necessary but it’s very easy to get lost in distractions if you don’t journal and create an action plan.

Another benefit to journaling is the ability to revisit older entries and compare them with where you are today in your life and business. Did those older ideas come to fruition? Did they morph into an even better idea? Did you follow through on action steps to reach those goals or milestones? Or is there something you forgot about and need to action? Use these older entries as a reminder to revisit ideas or to learn more about yourself and your motivation.

Bullet Journaling

If you’re not into writing pages and pages of notes, bullet journaling is a quick alternative. The idea is to write simple bullet notes that are a combination of a to-do list, a diary, and list of upcoming events. Part of the appeal of bullet journaling is creating your own journal with your own handwriting, bright ink colors, stickers, doodles, and unique pages that will serve your needs. In addition to business action plans, some people find it useful to include gratitude lists and workout schedules.

Multimedia Journaling

If you’re a born talker and feel like your playing a game of stump the chump every time you see a blank piece of paper, creating a multimedia journal using your smartphone may be for you. Record voice messages about your day, your plans, and your dreams or record videos with those same thoughts. Transfer these recordings to a service like Dropbox to free up storage space on your phone. Do it at the same time daily or as inspiration strikes.

Brain Dumping

Take a blank piece of paper – or open up a Google document – and just start writing ALL the things that are occupying your mind. Include business decisions that must be made, projects or goals you want to achieve, as well as personal items or errands to remember. There’s no thinking allowed while doing this; don’t judge if an idea is crazy or silly. Just open the page and write.

Pro Tip

After you complete your list, add these items to your calendar or delegate some of these tasks to your virtual assistant. If multiple items fall under the same general heading, block out some time to complete them all at once. Ignore the phone during these time blocks so you can focus your attention completely.