A productivity journal is a great tool to record, analyze and improve your efficiency cycle. Work smarter, not harder is a cliché, but it’s a cliché for a good reason. Productivity journal can help you work smarter, and avoid non-value added tasks.
This is especially useful when you have specific goals, big projects, or if you are just trying to form a habit of being productive. It can contribute significantly towards making you an expert.
If you already keep a journal, you could use that as a productivity journal too. But if you do, I recommend marking the pages or indexing for easy reference. If you are not very organized or fairly new to journaling, then I recommend keeping a seperate productivity journal because it will make the whole exercise easier.
How To Keep a Productivity Journal
1. Record
Start with your goals. If you don’t know what you are trying to achieve, you can’t measure your progress. Make your goals specific. If you want to get fit, it can’t be, “I want to lose weight.” It has to be, “I want to lose 10 pounds.”
Your big goals should be no more than 3 to 8, depending on their scope. That’s what you begin with, and then you can continue to break them down into mini goals, and task lists as you move forward.
2. Analyze
Once you have recorded your progress, your tasks, your emotions for at least two-three weeks, read through the entries. Journal about the patterns you notice.
Focus on facts, even when you are talking about your feelings. Be brutally honest, because this is where the growth happens.
- What emotions do you feel as you read through these entries?
- How do you feel about your projects? For example, looking at the progress you’ve made, do you feel the pride in your accomplishments? DO you feel frustration that you are not moving forward quick enough?
- What do you notice about times? Are there any particular days, times, locations when you are more productive?
- How have you spent your time?
- How much time have you wasted?
- What do you consider waste? Are you giving yourself time to relax and replenish your energy?
- What have you learned?
- What were the successes?
- Where did you fail miserably? Why did you fail?
3. Improve
Improvement is about action plans. Use the data from your analysis. Look at your answers to the above questions. Read them carefully, several times. Read them out loud.
If your analysis was honest, then you have your answers. You know where you are. Now it’s time for action.
- What successes do you want to repeat?
- How can you repeat the processes for those successes? Can you create templates?
- What will you do differently to not face the same failures again? How will you put those different steps in place?
- How can you make better use of your time? What actions can you take that will make you more productive, not busier.
- How will you keep recharging your inner batteries?
- How will you ensure that your goals remain aligned?
- What evaluations and assessments can you do to make sure that the path you remain on, remains the right path for you as you grow and change?
These are just a small sample of questions you could ask yourself in your productivity journal. The analysis, and the action plans could be as brief or as comprehensive as you want.
Your productivity journal is unique to you, so tailor it to your personality, your goals, and what brings out the best in you.
This is something that I’ve been overlooking. I have several large, long term goals, but I’ve been neglecting productivity metric to see how I’m spending my time. With your advice, I can make sure I’m both progressing in my goals and taking enough time off to avoid going (more) crazy. And perhaps my productivity journal can help me find ways to copmbine my work and play.
Matt,
It’s always worth trying. Especially with long-term goals, I think you will find it invaluable to track your progress, and overtime it will enhance your efficiency.
I do something similar to this with my blog.. It’s my monthly meeting with myself to think about progress, feelings, etc. I don’t write things down throughout the month though, and that might be helpful – especially when dealing with emotions. They’re easy to forget about after they pass!
I enjoyed this article more than I expected when I saw the picture of a Gantt chart at the top.
It’s good to remember to both analyze and improve on the notes you are taking, but honestly, I thought I was going to get more about the actual journalling itself. I apologize if this is covered elsewhere in your blog, I only discovered it today.
Some days I have no trouble journaling and other days I want a strict plan telling me write x here, y there, and z in this other place. Today is one of those days for me.
But I did find the analysis and improvement questions spot on and very useful. Thanks!
Great post Dolly. So often we set our goals and forget to analyse the results. This has inspired me to keep better track of what I’m trying to achieve. Thanks!
This is a good, analytical approach, Dolly. Thanks for the ideas!
Bobbi,
I find that coming up with goals/dreams is a creative, emotional thing but to then make them happen, to create actionable plan has to be an analytical approach otherwise we are often at the mercy of the “muse”
I agree with how you go full circle – once you have the planning done, how is it working for you or how can you improve upon it.
Excellent!
Lori,
Yes, the improvement has to be included. Many people set excellent goals, make progress, but then when the situation changes, they are unwilling to change their goals. That’s not productive. You have to flexible with your approach, without being aimless.
I’ve always kept a journal my whole life and along side that there are dozens of notebooks and planners to try and improve my productivity. The thought of combing these two never came together till now. Brilliant! I did something similar with heat mapping my productivity over a few days, but this goes much deeper! Thanks, Dolly!
I like how you encourage us to ask questions so we can come up with the solutions and improvements that work for us – as an individual. Great practical tips, as usual.
Dolly,
That sounds pretty interesting. I’ve never thought about going over my goals before.
I do like to make little goals and tick them of because I think it makes you feel a lot better and encourages you.
Jamie,
Yes, it’s absolutely satisfying to tick things off and it’s very encouraging. It’s only a part of it though. Reviewing your goals helps you assess if you are still on the right path, and more importantly by reviewing them you might learn to improve the goal itself. Can you make it any more specific for example? Are you sure that that’s exactly what you want? Often we decide a goal, only to find when attained that it’s not exactly what we wanted. So reviewing keeps the perspective fresh in your mind.
Dolly, thank you for such great advice!
I’m currently recording my progress towards my goals but can see how I can really take things to a whole new level by journalling using your questions as a guide.
Claire,
I’m glad you found it useful. Productivity maniacs like myself are always searching for solutions to take things that one level up, and using your journal for a productivity tool is hands-own one of the best things I have found.
Great article, Dolly!
In honest truth, this is the first time I hear about a Productivity Journal in such a way… but I truly LOVE the idea!
Your concept is similar in many ways to what is called “Systematic Observation” in REBT terms – with the main difference that it feels so much more inspiring!
Love and blessings,
Chantal
P.S. For your information, REBT stands for Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy.
Chantal,
Thanks.
REBT sounds like an interesting concept. I have never come across it before – so will check it out
I have such a hard time putting things down on paper. It’s all in my head. I’ll use these steps to get started. Thank you
More delicious tips, I like!
Hope you are using them
I love to use systems like this and will definitely give it a try. There’s a project I’m putting off and I’d love to know why. For a web worker, productivity is everything!
What will help make me more productive today, not busier?
I ask myself that question over and over again!
This is Terrific Dolly.
When you record, you document and at the same time you remind yourself and you become more aware too.
Then you can analyze, and from that space creativity has an opening.
Finally you can improve this way because you are noting, looking, seeing, and managing!
Love this way to be more productive!
Margo