Journaling for Decision Making
and Problem Solving
By Debra Eckerling, author and Goal Chat Gal
April is National Journaling Month.
When people think of journaling, they typically think of the traditional use: Writing down what’s going on in your life – your actions, activities, and emotions - for tracking, reflection, and healing.
One of my favorite ways to use a journal is for decision-making and problem-solving. .
From career and partnership opportunities to plot and character development, journaling helps you get those ideas out of your head and onto the page, so you can look at things objectively and make plans.
Professionally, do you need to decide:
Creatively, do you need some insight into:
To gain clarity, try my Directed Journaling technique. Directed journaling is stream-of-consciousness writing spurts, focused on a specific theme, issue, or problem.
Here’s how Directed Journaling works:
In your electronic calendar, schedule between three and five 15-minute sessions over a few days. Be sure to set a reminder.
When you get the alert for your appointment, set a timer for 15 minutes, and start writing. Note: While there are benefits to writing by hand, if you are more likely to complete the process by typing on a computer, go for it!
During each journaling session, focus on the question, decision, or challenge at hand. When you do your journaling, think outside the box. Be as logical and as extreme as possible. Your journal rants are for your eyes only. And don’t worry about repeating yourself. The trick is to get everything out of your head and onto the page.
Here’s the Trick
Do not read any of these journal entries until you have done the brainstorming several times.
Once you have exhausted your thoughts on the subject, then you may read the journal entries.
As you go through them, make a note of the ideas you repeat – those are what you are most drawn to. You may also come up with solutions that seem to come from left-field. That’s what happens during this process.
Final Thoughts
Journaling enables you to open yourself up to all possibilities and look at them objectively - whether it’s for a creative or professional venture. As a result, you are likely to come up with a successful solution, comfortable decision, or feasible plan that sets you up for success.
About Today’s Guest Blogger Debra Eckerling:
Goal strategist Debra Eckerling is the award-winning author of Your Goal Guide and founder of the D*E*B METHOD® for goal-setting simplified. A speaker, corporate consultant, and workshop leader, she offers personal and professional planning, event strategy, and team-building for executives, entrepreneurs, consultants, and companies. Debra has spoken on stages for TEDx, Innovation Women, SCORE LA, and more, and is the host of the #GoalChatLive show and The DEB Show podcast.
