Effective Business Journaling Techniques: Simple Tips and Tricks
- Published:
- Updated: April 12, 2024
If you are anything like me, you have a million and one ideas swirling through your mind. And as a life and business coach, I know we can’t do it all!
But what do we do with those ideas? One of the best ways to consolidate your thoughts is through journaling. It’s your best business asset for building and growing a successful venture. However, free writing isn’t the most efficient use of your time when you need to quickly find ideas to act on later. So, in this article, I want to share with you two simple ways to journal constructively.
Journaling is your best business asset
Your journal is your best asset because if will help you to brainstorm and create new ideas. You cannot afford not to maintain a journal. In addition, a business journal will help you maintain a historic log of key events in your business.
Also, use your journal to write down what’s going good and bad with your business. This can include your branding strategy, amongst other issues. Learning from your history will help you to make better decisions in the future.
Do not lie to yourself that you are too busy. Another myth is that somehow you will be able to remember everything. Few people have photographic memory. Moreover, your business needs to have clarity and focus.
Journaling will help you to discern whether or not you have sound logic behind your business decisions. It will help you to also give constructive criticism to your team members.
Famous entrepreneurs who used a journal
You will not be alone using this tool. There are numerous examples of entrepreneurs who maintained a business log.
Thomas Edison wrote down a lot of notes. When he died in 1931, he left behind over 5 million pages of them. His notebooks were about 6 by 9 inches and had around 285 pages each. They contained lots of details, like his business stuff and ideas for new inventions and patents.
You can read more about Thomas Edison and other famous entrepreneurs here.
Where to Store your Business Journal
Choose to keep a physical journal or write it on your computer. If you have an electronic journal, keep it on the cloud. That way you will be able to access it anywhere, anytime. I maintain my journals online using Google Docs.
Note for electronic journals: I highly suggest creating a Table of Contents (TOC), which will help you to search for information quickly.
How to Journal Constructively
You must have structure to get the most benefit from a business journal. It cannot be a random stream of thought where you chronicle every detail of your business day. Leave unstructured thought for your personal journal.
You can also consider these implementing one or all of these business tools if you have not done so already.
I recommend journaling by date or by subject. You may also choose to include Lessons Learned, Total Cost (in time or money) and Goals Achieved.
Below are two examples by date and by subject:
Sample Business Journal by Date
| Date | Event | Total Cost | Lessons Learned | Goals Achieved |
| August 1 | Created new business plan. Looked at potential storefront locations. | None | I forgot to forecast future profits. | Yes |
| November 15 | Decided to use WordPress for my website. | $550 | I should have hired Becky instead of Ross to design the website. | No |
| December 1 | Went to company picnic and found a new referral. | $10 parking and tolls | None | Yes |
| January 1 | Don’t know if I should choose between PayPal or Stripe. | Unknown yet | None | No |
| February 15 | Need to decide who to use for fulfillment processing. | Projected $200-$500 per month | Had a hard time working with UPS. Will choose Amazon Fulfillment over UPS. | N/A |
Sample Business Journal by Subject
| Subject | Date | What happened | Total Cost | Lessons Learned | Goals Achieved |
| Administration | August 1 | Met with Denise to create a business plan. | Included with Business Coach Package | I need to review it regularly. | Yes |
| Online Marketing | November 15 | Created new website | $550 | I should have hired Becky instead of Ross to design the website. | No |
| Networking | December 2 | Went to Chamber of Commerce luncheon | $10 parking and tolls | None | Yes |
| Operations | January 1 | Find a new payment processor | Pay no more than %3 per transaction | None | N/A |
Share Your Journal with Others
Once you have your journal constructed, the next step is to share it with your business coach or accountability partner. As your life and business coach, I will be review each topic and see if you need to add or revise any information. If I am not your coach, consider working with me today!
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