What’s a Work Journal?
A work journal is a collection of your career progress. It can be an actual journal, a spreadsheet, a calendar, an app, etc. Use whatever medium tickles your fancy; the key is to document your career journey in one place.
Work journals can be a great reference point during review season, when updating your resume, or when preparing for an interview. Instead of going off hazy memories, you can rely on actual data. Using a work journal can also help you identify your strengths and weaknesses, craft your personal brand, or find direction when you feel stuck in your career. There’s no right or wrong way to do it!
How to Start a Work Journal
A work journal doesn’t have to be fancy unless fancy sparks joy and keeps you consistent. Start by choosing your medium. You could use a(n):
App (e.g., notes app, or specific work journal apps)
Calendar
Journal
Planner
Spreadsheet
Website (like me!)
Then choose your cadence—how often do you want to update your journal? Daily, weekly, or monthly? If you work in a challenging, fast-paced job, you may benefit from making notes in your work journal daily. Maybe you’ve been in your role for a while and your days are predictable; if so, weekly or monthly updates are probably OK.
Once you decide on a cadence that makes sense, add it to your calendar. Find a way to hold yourself accountable so that you’re taking career notes regularly. Your future self will thank you.
Finally, figure out what you want to include in your work journal. This can evolve as the nature of your work and priorities change. It can be easy to slip into the trap of documenting everything; don’t fall for it! Instead, consider your career goals and note accomplishments, skills, and challenges that align. Your goals could relate to job-specific hard skills (e.g., I want to be a more efficient editor and reach my editing goals [X] weeks ahead of schedule) or more high-level soft skills (e.g., I want to communicate more clearly through email).
7 Work Journal Prompts
There’s no right or wrong way to use a work journal; it’s all about finding what you can do consistently and documenting progress that aligns with your goals. If you’re having a hard time figuring out what to write, consider these prompts for weekly entries:
Did I learn anything new this week?
What were my biggest accomplishments this week?
What were my biggest challenges this week?
Which tasks energized me or drained me? Why?
Which tasks drained me? Why?
What should I prioritize next week to improve my outcomes?
Did I receive any valuable feedback this week?
Remember to keep your career goals in mind when considering these prompts.
TL;DR
A work journal can be a useful tool to keep you focused on your goals and prepared to talk about the state of your career whenever the opportunity arises. The beauty of a work journal is that you can make it your own using your technology of choice. It’s a safe space to brag a little. If you need support determining your goals or want an accountability partner in reaching them, schedule an intro call and we can work together to make your goals a reality.
