It’s a given that for most people, a large facet of their professional lives is their relationships with others: people you work with, people you work for, people who work for you, contacts you have that you talk to frequently or collaborate with, customers, clients…the list can go on forever! And of course, those relationships are important. But, when it comes to figuring out what goals you want to set yourself in your professional life, don’t look to the external—look to the internal.

One tool that helps us do that is by writing every day in a journal, also known as “journalling.” The journal itself can be a notebook or a spiral-bound journal with a decorative cover or whatever you feel comfortable using to record your thoughts. There are also apps and websites you can use to create a digital journal, if that’s what you prefer. 

Know Thyself

Aristotle is credited with once saying, “The most important relationship is the one you have with yourself.” Knowing and understanding who you are, what you value, and what your motivations are is important in life in general, but this knowledge can be harnessed to help guide you as you figure out what you want your professional life to look like—now, in six months, in five years, in fifteen years.

Identifying what you truly value and what really motivates you makes so much of goal-setting quite easy! For example, if you value financial security, maybe your goal is to retire early. To do that, you might decide to seek a more demanding, higher-paying job, even if it leaves you with a little less time for socializing in the short-term. But that higher-paying job is a stepping stone to the role above it, which is even more lucrative, but will be less hands-on.

Similarly, if you value family above all else, perhaps you might decide to opt for a career path that doesn’t inspire much passion in you, but that pays enough to meet your needs and maybe some of your wants, and more importantly, offers you the opportunity to max out your time spent with your family—extra vacation days, flexible scheduling, remote work, among other things.

Reflect

Figuring out what your values and motivations are means taking time to reflect and self-analyze. And not just once! You should regularly take time to consider your life and how things are going, how you’re progressing towards your goals, if your priorities have shifted. A great way to do that reflection work is to journal.

I like to think of a journal as a safe place to ramble. You can out anything you want in there, write anything that comes to mind, no matter how crazy or illogical—it’s only meant for your eyes. All the snippets and thoughts and bits of ideas you put in there (for example, ideas, quotes, articles, images, lists, notes) help feed your thinking process.

Common Ways to Reflect

Documenting

If you’re unsure of how to start, you can start simple: just use your journal to track and document information. Writing things down for a concrete purpose can help you start to incorporate the act of journalling into your day, as opposed to expanding and reflecting on the future.

The way I used to do this was to create to-do lists and plans, and project notes. Not only was it helpful to keep details straight and have a solid understanding of what I needed to do that day/week, but it also allowed me to sometimes see how projects shift and change, or even grow. It also helped me see how my work trends shifted—for example, providing more or less of one service or another, or a project that dragged on longer than it should.

Work Preferences

As your career progresses, how do your work habits change? How do you like to work? A journal can be a great place to do monthly check-ins with yourself about how you’re developing in your field, in your role, and as an individual who has your own preferred ways of working. Keeping track of how you continue to develop could help you recognize sooner when you begin to feel restless or dissatisfied.

What Worked, What Didn’t

As time passes, it’s a certainty that your work habits will change, as will your practices and techniques. Checking in with yourself at the end of each project allows you the opportunity to do a bit of a debrief on what did or didn’t work for that particular project. Focusing this way means you can truly evaluate what you did that really worked, and what you did that perhaps didn’t work so well.

Envision the Future

Instead of growing complacent and becoming stuck in your routine, think (and write) about opportunities you see for growth in your life right now. Reflect on your values and motivations, then use this narrative to help build a roadmap. Now that you know where you want to go, how can you get there?

For more tips on goal setting in a professional context, check out our blog, “Planning Your Year Ahead as a Freelance Editor: Setting Professional and Personal Goals”!

Using Guided Prompts

Sometimes it’s difficult to write without a sense of structure—I know I struggle with this! Give me a topic and I’m good to go, but tell me just to write something, anything, and I freeze. If that sounds like you, then guided prompts can be a great way to explore and reflect using an established framework.

Guided writing prompts can also help you brainstorm new ideas, explore the motivation behind your goals, identify potential obstacles, and engage with and release any hidden emotions that might be holding you back.

Here are a few guided prompts to get you started. The first group is related to goal setting and figuring out what influences your goals. The second group is more connected to taking stock of your journey toward your goal once it’s been set, and reviewing your progress.

Goal Setting

• What do I value most in life? What have been my most rewarding, satisfying or fulfilling moments?
• Where do I want to be this time next year? What do I want to achieve?
• What future career goal excites me right now?
• What obstacles or challenges might prevent me from reaching my career goals?
• What can I do to overcome these potential obstacles or challenges?
• What is my definition of success in this role?
• What is the why behind my goal(s)? What will achieving my goal(s) give me?

Reviewing Progress

• What challenges did I face in my project today?
• What specific steps did I take or initiate to face and overcome these business challenges?
• What career achievements, big or small, am I most proud of this month?
• What is currently working? What is currently not working?
• What improvements do I need to make going forward?
• What did I struggle with this month/quarter? How did I overcome these obstacles?
• What were my biggest challenges? How can I overcome these challenges in future?

Give It a Try!

There are many benefits to nurturing the practice of regular and self-reflective journalling. It can deepen your self-awareness by documenting thoughts, challenges, and achievements, which allows you to make more informed decisions (at work and out of work). It can also be a tool for problem solving, helping you to clarify thoughts and brainstorm innovative solutions when you encounter obstacles, as we all do.

Setting goals is an essential part of building a healthy and fulfilling life for yourself. When you set goals, you have something to work towards. Goals give you direction and a roadmap to follow so you can wake up each day with intention and motivation to build something better.

Journalling can help you identify what you truly value in life, and once you set goals that honour those values, you can take the first step in creating the life you imagine!