Working with finance professionals in the employee wellness and leadership development space and being a finance professional myself; we discovered the multiple benefits of journaling. If you are not journaling, I hope this article can encourage you to give it a go.
Ronel Jooste CA(SA) Director at FinanciallyFiTLife and author, speaker and radio talk show host
Journaling became part of my daily routine almost a decade ago when I embarked on my entrepreneurial journey in the wellness industry and was desperately looking for balance and purpose in my life. Today I don’t go on holiday without packing my journal.
When we introduce finance professionals to journaling during workshops, the initial reaction is usually ‘I am a numbers person. I don’t like writing’ or ‘I am more a thinking person than a feeling person’. These reactions tend to become ‘famous last words’ once they start experiencing the results.
- Setting the mood for the day − Use 10–15 minutes as part of your morning routine for journaling. You don’t need to write pages. You also don’t need to write deep personal feelings. Writing down your thoughts and feelings can help you to proactively identify and manage stress or negative emotions. If you constantly feel tired and anxious, it might indicate early stages of burnout. Then write down three things that you are grateful for and don’t repeat the same things. Gratitude can turn any day into a good day when you realise how many things you have that others dream about.
- Goalsetting and planning − As finance professionals, we usually have project plans that map out daily tasks and milestones. We have sales targets, cash flow projections and budgets in our professional capacity, but often neglect setting goals and planning our personal lives. Use journaling to write down personal goals and tasks for the short and longer term. This can include planning a Caribbean cruise with the family or repaying your bond. Also use it to schedule weekly self-care activities and family time.
- Become present and mindful − In a world where we are always on the run, journaling can be very effective in grounding you and becoming more mindful of living in the now treasuring every day that we are alive and healthy.
- Improve your sleep routine − If you are working until late and then struggle to sleep because a thousand thoughts are running through your head, journaling might bring welcome relief. Use 15 minutes before you go to bed to write down all your thoughts, do task lists for the next day, etc. Doing a brain dump can help to manage all those crazy thoughts and get you in the right frame of mind to enjoy a peaceful night of sleep.
Wishing you a more fulfilled life with your journal always nearby.
In brief
Being successful in the financial world can be tough at the best of times. Hard work, deadlines, constant pressure, late nights, sitting in front of the laptop for hours daily, having limited work/life balance can be inserted as a standard paragraph to most job descriptions. While many professionals might experience job satisfaction, they might often take strain in their personal lives. Their health, emotional wellbeing and relationships pay the price for career success. The good news is that there are brilliant tools and techniques available to assist in creating a more fulfilled life, managing stress more effectively, and achieving balance in all aspects of life.
