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Should you keep a journal?


Should you keep a journal?

TL:DR: Yes.

I started keeping a journal a few years ago.  There was a crazy change in my role, and there was going to be a lot of learning ahead.  Someone suggested I write a journal so I can share my knowledge and what I learned along the way.  It is was just a simple Google Docs file, with dates and bullet points of what was happening during the day.

Since then I have been keeping it going.  When the file gets too big I just start another one.  I usually fill it in on the way home from work, or when something particularly exciting is happening.

Here are some of the benefits I have found

  1. It helps me process my day
  2. It helps me take notes to remember what I have learnt
  3. It helps me think better
  4. It helps me improve for the future

Journals help me process the day

Sometimes really cool stuff happens, and I want to capture the moment.  Or I am on the train home mulling over what happened during the day. Or sometimes I can't sleep because I am thinking about things to do tomorrow.  Your brain is full of thoughts and it has no way to get them out.

Writing out a journal helps do all of these things.  Talking to a partner or a trusted coworker has a similar benefit, but they are not always available - especially at 2am.

The best part is that our brains love that you have written it down.  It is like my brain says "great, we don't have the think about that any more" 

It allows our brain to move on to more important things, like sourcing chocolate.

Journals help me take notes 

I'm often listening to podcasts or audio books while out for a jog. Often they are product management related, sometimes about coaching or leadership, and sometimes they are random stories. 

So if I hear some little nugget of wisdom, or story that resonates then I slow down and type it into the journal.  It feels a bit like taking notes in class, something to help reinforce the learning.

Journals help me think better 

We all know we come up with better ideas later.  We're told to sleep on it.  Your subconscious gets to work, joins a few dots and later on you have a better solution that in hind-sight was obvious at the beginning.  

In the Dan Ciamba HBR article "The More Senior Your Job Title, the More You Need to Keep a Journal" they call lessons happen after periods of quiet reflection, and journals provide an effective, efficient and private way to take those breaks 

Not only could journaling help you come up with solutions later, it can also help your future decisions.

Journals help me improve for the future

When writing out a journal entry you get a chance to ask "why". And maybe there is something you can look out for, or do better next time.

James Clear in Atomic Habits talks about execs who keep a "decision journal" where they record decisions and review them much later to see if they were the right call.

What do I write?

When I write into my journal I try to give the specific piece of information, the context, as well as why it resonates for me. And I ask some questions that dig into why this might be important for me:

  • What do I want?
  • What was most useful?
  • What did I learn?
  • What did I stuff up?
This gives me a chance to reflect on the importance of the info, as well as the "so what?"  My longer term goal is to review them in the future and reflect one what I have learnt over the years.  Do I change? Do I think about things differently now?

So yes, keep a journal.

Photo by Kristin Brown on Unsplash

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