This Journaling Technique Will Make You Wildly Productive

Ev Chapman
June 2, 2022
•
2 min read

Do you journal at work?

When most people talk about journaling they do it in the context of their personal lives. You don't often hear people talk about journaling when it comes to work. But I've found that work journalling can actually make you a more productive, happier employee.

It's the number one way I get unstuck, beat overwhelm and solve problems daily.

So much of our conversations around productivity and work completely ignore any kind of emotion or feelings. As if when we check into work we check out any kind of humanity we have.

But instead of ignoring our humanity, work journalling brings us back into the present moment. I've found it increases my productivity in ways making yet another list just can't. Here's How It Works:

Writing About What I'm Doing.  I employ a method called Interstitial Journalling throughout the day. Whenever I finish a task I write what I've done and what I'm planning to do next. This helps to transition between different tasks.

Writing To Get Unstuck.  If I catch myself getting distracted or procrastinating I go to my work journal and start writing about how I'm feeling. I ask myself what's the roadblock here? Usually after a minute or so I've discovered what's wrong and can get going again.

Writing To Reflect.  I like to spend the last 10 minutes of my day reflecting on what happened. What went well. What went not so well. This practice has by far helped me to improve how I work, identify better ways to do things and also helps me to shut down at the end of the day.

In the end, my work journal makes me feel more like an explorer charting territory, rather than a robot ticking things off a list.

Liked thIS? Then You Might Like My SPARK Newsletter...

The ✨ Spark Newsletter:
‍Join 1,500+ knowledge workers building smarter personal knowledge systems.

Every Sunday I drop into your inbox with a simple creative workflow to help you think clearer & create smarter.

Or Keep Browsing More Posts Like This...

The High School Highlighting Habit That Is Holding You Back and How to Fix It

Most of us learned how to study books & highlight in high school. And we're still doing it the same way.
Read post

How to Generate Better Ideas by Trying Less

The fastest way to solve an idea is to leave it unfinished.
Read post

Ditch Brainstorming: Here’s How to Build an Endless Idea Ecosystem Instead

Why You'll Never Run Out of Ideas Again Once You Set Up This System
Read post

Why Your Notes Aren’t Working for You (And the One Shift You Need to Make)

Traditional note-taking methods mostly feel like information storage. You spend so much time organising, categorising, and filing rather than the real work of exploring & working with ideas.
Read post