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Development Journal - A Thirty Day Challenge

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I recently gave you one way to use a journal in your personal and professional development process but there are many more.  Journals are important because the exercise of writing things down gives you time to reflect, process, make connections, and plan future courses of action.  I know it seems like this is the last thing in the world that you have time to start, but I know it will make a huge difference if you commit to it.  My challenge to you is to journal for the next 30 days and decide for yourself whether it is indeed worth your time.  For those taking the challenge, I will post journaling prompts on my Facebook Page everyday that you can use if you don't have something to write about.  (Like the Facebook Page while you're there and select Get Notifications if you want to receive the daily journalling prompts automatically.)

The first question you face sometimes seems the hardest - where will I keep my journal?

If you go to your local book store you will find beautiful volumes that are great for keeping on your desk or bedside table but probably not the best for toting around with you every where you go.  Moleskine has some great products that are extremely portable for those who like to be able to physically write down on paper and even your daytimer can serve this purpose if you commit to using it daily.

You can use your favorite word processing software if you plan on using the same device all the time or you can use a cloud-based app like Evernote if you want to be able to journal anywhere at anytime with little fuss.

Now, about what will you write in your journal?  Here are some recommendations, leave a comment if you have other ideas!
  1. From the previously cited post - to track your daily progress towards your goals.
  2. Using the Strategic Serendipity daily journal prompts.  
  3. Using a site like "Brainy Quote" find an inspirational leadership quote each day that speaks to a challenge you're facing and reflect on what the quote means to you.
  4. Pick one challenge from the day and reflect on what steps you could take to avoid something similar in the future AND pick one success from the day and reflect on how you can replicate that type of success in other areas.
  5. If you are working on building your team, pick one thing you did to develop a team member that day and reflect on the process, relationship building component, and results of the act or conversation.
Will you take the challenge?  Will you get two people to join you?  Share your thoughts along the way via comments on this post.




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