How my business journal generated over $250K in 12 months

I’ve been journaling every day for the past 12 months and it’s completely changed my outlook on work, sparked countless revenue-generating ideas, and it’s played a key role in keeping me on track with my goals.

Nowadays, I journal at least twice a day, keeping both a personal and a business journal. It’s the latter that I feel not many people talk about, and that’s why I’m sharing my business journaling method today.

So here’s how my business journal has generated up to $250,000 in the past 12 months.

Did you say ‘business journal’?

It’s simple. I find a quiet place without any distractions to reflect on Criclabs, our service, our team, our client, and our future.

A business journal helps me unlock 3 main things:

1. Achieving mental clarity by thought-dumping at the start of each day
2. Creating a dedicated space for reflection and ideation
3. Staying aligned with the goals I’ve set out to complete

But to be completely honest, two years ago I never thought journaling was a good way to spend my time. I thought I would only be writing down what I already knew.

And when I gave it a shot, it was boring as hell.

I couldn’t capitalize on the benefits of journaling that so many of my peers talked about.

My journal entries were short, unimaginative and plain boring.

It left me feeling drained and frustrated. But I knew there had to be more to it, so I kept trying.

Over time, I developed a business journaling framework that has become the single biggest needle-mover in helping me improve my business.

It’s this framework that I wanted to share in this post. Let’s go through it!

My journaling method

After more than a year of consistent journaling, my methods have evolved over time. Here’s where things stand now.

I invest 25 minutes each day in my business journal, which is broken down into two sessions:

• 10 minutes: Morning session (Free form)
• 15 minutes: Even session (reflection prompts)

The morning session: Free form (10 minutes)

The morning session takes place right after I’ve woken up. I’m still in a half-awake state by the time I start this journal, and feel fully awake by the time I finish it.

I open my calendar, look at the day’s schedule, then proceed to dump any thoughts that enter my mind into the journal (my adaptation of Julia Cameron’s Morning Pages).

I keep writing, jotting down any random thoughts that enter my head about the upcoming day for 10 minutes. That’s basically it!

What does this achieve?

1. I gets me out of bed faster, reducing my time laying in bed by 15 minutes.
2. It allows me to dump all my thoughts and worries about the day onto a piece of paper. Emptying my mind for more creative thoughts to enter later on.
3. It prepares me psychologically for the day, putting me in a mental state that’s motivated and ready to take on the day’s challenges.

My go-to tool here is the reMarkable e-ink tablet, but I’ve tried this with real pen and paper too and it works just as well.

The beauty of this journaling method lies in it’s simplicity.

Yet, it’s a game-changer for me in allowing me to start my day with a clear head, ready to ideate and work on growing my business.

The evening session: Reflection prompts (15 minutes)

The second session comes in the evening, having a much more structured approach. Here, I’ve collected a list of prompts that are designed to do three things:

1. Challenge preconceptions I have about my business and force myself to think outside the box.
2. View our service offerings and team performance through critical lens after a day’s hard work.
3. Reflect on the future of Criclabs, our identity and what we can one day become.

Where the morning session is meant to empty my head at the start of each day, the evening session is designed to spark ideas at the day’s most quiet hour.

If you’d like to give it a go, you can check out my business journal template here!

The journal is split into three types:

• Daily journal to keep you on track
• Weekly / monthly journal to let you uncover hidden opportunities and ideas
• Annual journal to help you reflect on your values and achievements

In a couple of weeks, I’ll add a link to my later post that dives into each of the prompts and what they’re meant to achieve here.

Is it worth the time?

Driving value from a business journal takes time and practice. My first several entries felt dry, uninspired and short.

But over time, revelations about my team started to appear, better ways to productize our services came to light, tactics to close new client and retain existing ones started to compound.

I can confidently attribute about 35% of the improvements and innovations in the past 12 months in our overall client experience and employee wellbeing to my journaling process.

In short, that’s worth well more than $250,000.

So is keeping a business journal worth the time? 100% YES.

But it goes beyond the numbers

My journal has helped me empathize with my team members during our 1:1s and catch-ups.

It’s given me the ability to connect with my clients and offer innovative ways to deliver value to them.

Most importantly, it’s helped me better understand myself, track my progression towards set goals, and find fulfillment in what I do at Criclabs.

Bonus method: 8 critical tasks

As a quick bonus, after finishing my Morning Pages, I also note down my 8 Critical Tasks.

This is separate from my main task management process, but serves as a reinforcer for the 8 critical things I want to get done during the day.

Why 8?

That’s because it often forces me to note down things outside of work that’s also important for my physical and mental wellbeing.

It forces me to be more intentional how I’d like to spend my time, whether it’s for work, resting, or spending time with loved ones.

But what does it add on top of my current task management process?

The tactile satisfaction of physically crossing out completed tasks.

The act of crossing things out from this list is so rewarding that the list in and of itself is a motivation for me to get things done.

A surprising, yet effective way to keep me going during the day. That’s why I always create my 8 critical task list right after my Morning Pages each day, going into my 34th consecutive day at the time of writing this article.

Is journaling really for me?

You never know until you try. From a sceptic, I’ve turned into an avid journal-taker in less than 2 years. I wish I had a working template when I first started to help guide me through different modes of thinking.

That’s why I created this business journal template. Feel free to give it a shot and reach out if you have any feedback / requests!