Many entrepreneurs believe that keeping a business journal is an essential daily habit which propels their personal and professional growth…and they’re right!
If you’re a business owner and don’t currently write in a journal regularly, you might want to reconsider. There are numerous benefits to recording your thoughts, life, and aspirations on a daily basis, especially if you want to become successful.
Journaling can help your memory, problem-solving ability, achievement, emotional health, and even your physical health.
11 Surprising Benefits of Keeping a Business Journal:
1: A journal serves as a record of your life
Have you ever thought back to those early days in business and thought, “What was her name?” about a woman you networked with at an event and need to get back in contact with. Or have you ever wondered if a particular event happened in 2012 or 2014? A journal is a useful way to record the significant events in your life and business. This data is also really useful if you ever decide to publish a book about your success.
2: Journaling can be cathartic
When you get the tough stuff out on paper, you feel better. Journaling gives your emotional health a quick boost and can help with long-term emotional wellness too. Put pen to paper when you’re struggling with impostor syndrome or your inner critic is playing up – you’ll feel calmer once you’ve got it all down on paper.
3: You view your challenges in a new way
Things look different in your head than they do on paper, or on the computer screen. It’s a little less personal when you can actually see your challenges. You might find that many of your challenges aren’t quite as challenging as you first thought.
4: You can see your progress
When you record your thoughts about your business journey, they’re right there in front of you. It’s easy to see how much your business is, or isn’t, progressing. Just looking back at your old entries can tell you a lot. Do you keep repeating the same mistakes? Are you stuck in the same patterns? Do you challenge yourself a lot? Are you getting great feedback from clients/customers? This information can help you to see both negative and positive patterns of behaviour.
5: You will progress
When you record the most important happenings in your business day, you’ll start to make new things happen. You’ll be embarrassed or annoyed with yourself if you keep recording the same old boring stuff each day. You’ll do new things and challenge yourself in order to have something interesting to write about!
6: You’ll achieve more
Studies have shown that just writing down goals significantly increases the likelihood of increasing them, so make goal setting and review an important part of your journaling ritual.
7: Your memory will improve
If you reflect on your daily life and business activities at the end of the day, and record them in your journal, you’ll be much more likely to remember important events and occurrences. It’s a great workout for your brain and an effective way to remember more of your life.
8: You’ll be in good company
Many famous people kept journals. John D. Rockefeller, George Patton, Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Edison, Winston Churchill, Marie Curie, and Mark Twain believed in the power of journaling. Not to mention the following people who swear by writing in their journal each day; Jim Rohn, Oprah Winfrey, Arianna Huffington and Richard Branson to name but a few.
9: You learn about yourself
When you keep a journal, you quickly see your behavioural patterns and tendencies which can be a great tool for personal growth and spiritual development. Knowing and understanding yourself can also help with general mental wellness and recovery.
10: Journaling encourages creative thinking
Journaling organises your thoughts and improves your problem-solving abilities. You can clear some of the clutter out of your head when you journal, and your subconscious can begin working on a solution to a challenge.
11: Journaling can lead to improved health
One study at the University of Auckland showed that writing in a journal can lead to faster wound healing and minimize the symptoms of several ailments, including asthma and irritable bowel syndrome.
A few final tips…
- Consider using pen and paper instead of a computer for your journal. While using a computer can be more convenient, writing engages your mind at a higher level and it’s a great excuse to buy a new notebook.
- Set aside some quiet time every day which you’ll dedicate at least 15 minutes to writing in your journal.
- Commit to trying journaling for a full month and then make an evaluation of your business and personal growth – I guarantee it will be positive!
What are your experiences of journaling? I’d love to hear them, please comment below.
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