Mari's Journaling Power Blog | Journaling Therapy, Health
Keeping a Work Diary: The Motivational Power of Reflection
Guest blog post by Walter Chen, CEO of iDoneThis, the easiest way to keep a work diary.
The idea of work is inextricable from output. Work is something you produce, you make, you do. Many of us fall into the trap of focusing only on output, thinking our jobs and businesses are all about creating, producing, connecting, networking, reaching out and churning out. But just as important is what’s going on inside, what’s processing, churning, and connecting within.
Every day at work is a personal day. Things happen, in your control and outside of it, that affect your perceptions and emotions, your insides, which then influence your ultimate output. The whole interaction of input, output, and processing goes mostly unseen by your management and perhaps even yourself. That’s where the value of keeping a work diary comes in.
The research of Harvard Business School professor Teresa Amabile and psychologist Steven Kramer shows that making progress is the most powerful motivator at work. Key to that progress is paying attention to what Amabile and Kramer call your “inner work life,” that complex interaction between perception, emotion, and motivation. They believe there are four reasons for keeping a work diary: the practice will cultivate focus, patience, planning, and personal growth, which all contribute to making progress.
It makes sense that reflection produces better workers and finer work. Reflection grows your self-awareness, giving you greater capability to gain insight, plan, and improve your working habits, relationships, moods, and practices. You connect more dots and gain a better idea of what works for you to work better.
The daily practice of writing about your day should not be another mountain to climb. Simply take a moment and write down a textual snapshot of what happened during your day and your thoughts. Amabile and Kramer recommend spending a mere ten minutes reflecting and writing. It’s far too easy to remember the negative aspects of work, which tend to stand out, so make an effort to pay attention and celebrate the good stuff — the accomplishments and the small wins that turn out to matter in the long run.
Many of us journal to reflect on our present, gaining context and perspective for the future. There’s a saying that you can’t know where you’re going without knowing where you’ve been, and your work life is part of that trajectory. Maintaining a work diary engages you in your work, connecting your inner work life and outer work life, and puts you on the path to improving your life in general.
Walter Chen is the CEO of iDoneThis, the easiest way to keep a work diary.
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The idea of work is inextricable from output. Work is something you produce, you make, you do. Many of us fall into the trap of focusing only on output, thinking our jobs and businesses are all about creating, producing, connecting, networking, reaching out and churning out. But just as important is what’s going on inside, what’s processing, churning, and connecting within.
Every day at work is a personal day. Things happen, in your control and outside of it, that affect your perceptions and emotions, your insides, which then influence your ultimate output. The whole interaction of input, output, and processing goes mostly unseen by your management and perhaps even yourself. That’s where the value of keeping a work diary comes in.
The research of Harvard Business School professor Teresa Amabile and psychologist Steven Kramer shows that making progress is the most powerful motivator at work. Key to that progress is paying attention to what Amabile and Kramer call your “inner work life,” that complex interaction between perception, emotion, and motivation. They believe there are four reasons for keeping a work diary: the practice will cultivate focus, patience, planning, and personal growth, which all contribute to making progress.
It makes sense that reflection produces better workers and finer work. Reflection grows your self-awareness, giving you greater capability to gain insight, plan, and improve your working habits, relationships, moods, and practices. You connect more dots and gain a better idea of what works for you to work better.
The daily practice of writing about your day should not be another mountain to climb. Simply take a moment and write down a textual snapshot of what happened during your day and your thoughts. Amabile and Kramer recommend spending a mere ten minutes reflecting and writing. It’s far too easy to remember the negative aspects of work, which tend to stand out, so make an effort to pay attention and celebrate the good stuff — the accomplishments and the small wins that turn out to matter in the long run.
Many of us journal to reflect on our present, gaining context and perspective for the future. There’s a saying that you can’t know where you’re going without knowing where you’ve been, and your work life is part of that trajectory. Maintaining a work diary engages you in your work, connecting your inner work life and outer work life, and puts you on the path to improving your life in general.
Walter Chen is the CEO of iDoneThis, the easiest way to keep a work diary.
