20 Work Journal Writing Prompts to Help You Focus Your Career Goals

There’s journaling, and then there’s work journaling. Both involve pen, paper, and personal introspection, but work journaling isn’t about emotional satisfaction. A work journal is a tool. Work journal writing prompts allow you to reflect on your daily performance and your career as a whole. It’s so easy to get caught up in the whirlwind of daily life and forget about those goals you have, which is why it’s necessary to have a way to keep yourself focused.

One of the most convenient ways to do that is by having a work journal (like one of Erin Condren’s spiral notebooks) and writing in it at least once a week. The frequency of this depends on your life and schedule. Some people can reflect on their work every single day, while others are simply lucky to reflect once a week. You can journal about your work as frequently as you want, but I recommend at least once a week. Reflecting back on your performance from your personal point of view using work journal writing prompts is beneficial because it reminds you to live up to your own standards of performance and to work toward your career goals.

That’s not to say you shouldn’t work toward the goals of your company or aim to meet your boss’ standards as well. Sometimes those things can eclipse our personal expectations and goals though, and the truth is you need to meet both in order to be successful. If you’re not really sure what to write down in a work journal, then try these 20 work journal writing prompts. As you become more comfortable with work journaling, you’ll be able to jump in and recognize exactly what to write about. Until then, you might need some help.

These 20 work journal writing prompts will cover all of the bases and help you dig in on the important things in your professional career:

1. What goals do I want to achieve this quarter? How will I achieve those goals?
2. What did I learn today?
3. What could I have done better this week?
4. What is my biggest issue in terms of organization and time management?
5. How can I be a better communicator?
6. What did I do today that will get me closer to my career goals?
7. I am proud of myself professionally because _________.
8. What is it about my job that makes me happiest?
9. What is one area I can learn more about in order to be better at my job?
10. What is the next step in my career, and can that be done in my current position? If not, what is my plan? If so, how will I manifest that?
11. What are my biggest weaknesses professionally? How can I turn those into strengths or at least less problematic weaknesses?
12. What are my strengths? Am I putting those strengths to good use?
13. What mistakes did I make this week and what did I learn from them?
14. How am I spending my time on a daily basis? Is there anything that needs to be adjusted?
15. What am I most proud of professionally? Why?
16. Is there professional development or educational training I need/want to pursue to improve and further my career? How can I make that a reality?
17. What do I want my career to look like in one year? What are my action steps?
18. What do I want my career to look like in five years? 10 years? What are my action steps?
19. Does my job leave me feeling professionally fulfilled? Does it make me happy? Why or why not?
20. What is my ideal work routine? How can I make that a reality in my life?