Are you documenting your hopes and dreams? How about your life experiences? If not, you should consider journaling. While some people cringe at the idea of putting their thoughts down on paper for fear of their secrets being exposed or that others will read their words, those that do journal see that the benefits outweigh the likelihood of someone finding their journal and passing judgment. Like with all things, you need to find a form of journaling that will work for you and that you enjoy doing. You want to incorporate this habit into your daily routine, so you don’t miss out on the many benefits.
Benefits of Journaling
One of the most significant benefits of journaling is to dump all your ideas and dreams onto paper, so your mind remains clear and ready to focus on taking action. If you want to achieve your goals and dreams, taking action is mandatory, but it’s very easy to get lost in distractions if you don’t journal and create an action plan.
An additional benefit of journaling is the ability to revisit older entries and compare them with where you are today in your 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? Use these older entries as a reminder to revisit ideas or to learn more about yourself and your motivation.
Also, there are many different ways to journal. Let’s take a look at a few:
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 a list of upcoming events. Part of the appeal of bullet journaling is creating your journal in your own handwriting, bright ink colors, 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 get stumped every time you see a blank piece of paper, create a multimedia journal using your smartphone. 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.
Brain Dumping
Take a blank piece of paper – or open up a Word 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 write it down.
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.
No matter the format of your journal it is a critical part of creating your God-inspired Business and one you are happy with being the CEO of.
