streamline
live more. do less.
Last week I wrote about some of the ways that I use Evernote to maximize my time while commuting. One such way is to record my work journal, but because I've found the work journal so useful, I felt it deserved its own post.
First and foremost, I can take no credit for the work journal idea. This was an idea that I found on the Website for Levo League (and, full disclosure, I actually found it through Pinterest). A work journal is just what it sounds like, a journal that you keep for work. In it, you record your work wins, your work losses, how things that happened at work make you feel, and how you're progressing on big projects.
Work Journal Basics
Below I've listed the questions from the work journal, as found on Levo League:
What events stand out in my mind from the work day? How did it affect my inner work life?
What progress did I make today? How did it affect my inner work life?
What nourishes and catalysts supported me and my work today? How can I sustain them tomorrow?
What one thing can I do to make progress on my important work tomorrow?
What setbacks did I have today? How did they affect my inner work life? What can I learn from these setbacks?
What toxins and inhibitors impacted me and my work today? How can I weaken or avoid them tomorrow?
Did I affect my colleagues’ inner work lives positively today? How might I do so tomorrow?
How Did I Balance Life and Work Today?
After using the work journal for some time, I decided that there were a few more questions that I wanted to ask myself regularly, and so I've tailored the work journal to meet my needs. For example, I always want to be mindful about how I'm balancing work and life outside work. On the days when work is dominating, it creates stress, because I know I'm not showing up" for my kids, my husband, my house, my dog, and most of all, myself. In contrast, the days when life overwhelms can be frustrating in their own right, because the to do list at work hasn't gone anywhere. Thus, I added the question, "How did I balance life and work today?"
Quality Time
In a similar vein, it can be really easy for me to slip into the make dinner, eat dinner, get on jammies, brush teeth, read books, collapse routine with our kids at night. I'm often so tired and find myself pushing us all through our time together, just to get to those few minutes alone before I fall asleep. But these minutes and hours are our life, and I want to make them good. I think part of that is being mindful. So, I added another question: What quality time activities can I do with the kids tonight. Usually, it's something really simple, like reading a book or taking a walk. The point, for me, is more that I've made a conscious decision to engage with my kids during this activity, to notice them and the world around us, and not to rush through it.
What Am I Looking Forward To?
This one is a real winner, especially during a rough week. It's always nice to have something to look forward to, and reminding myself of all the things I'm looking forward to helps keep me happy and motivated. I recently celebrated a big birthday and for weeks I recorded in my work journal that I was anxiously awaiting a fun celebration with my best girlfriends. If we are what we think, it's good to be thinking about happy things.
What's My Schedule for Tomorrow?
This question, which I added to my personal work journal, has probably been the most useful edit I've made. Like many working parents, I have to be laser-focused at work. My work hours are strict and inflexible--not because my work is inflexible, but because I've got that oh-so-demanding second job of being a parent. Creating a plan for the next day helps me prioritize the things I absolutely have to get done, the things I'd like to get done and the things that can be pushed to another day. It also reminds me to schedule things like a break for a walk or a three-minute meditation.
Using Evernote
When I started doing the work journal, I did it in the last few minutes of the work day, but over time these few minutes got eaten up by other things (including the addition of a much longer commute after we moved). While I missed the period of reflection, I didn't really have the extra time to work it in, until I realized, Wait a minute, I have acres of time...on my commute. Now I dictate my work journal into my phone using Evernote. As with other journals I keep (see the previous post in this series), I use the text note and then the voice to text feature to translate what I'm speaking into text. Someday maybe I'll go back and read my work journal entries, or maybe I won't. What I've learned is that I don't really need to go back and read them. Speaking them organizes my mind and helps me create a plan moving forward.