Journaling: How Retrospective Introspection Can Unlock Project Managers' Productivity and Professional Development

Ryan Lanci is a Registered Nurse and Project Management Professional (PMP)® certification holder with experience in acute care and pharmaceutical development settings. With over ten years of experience in pharma, his focus has been on delivering projects that result in process and system optimization of solutions that deliver patient safety, patient value, improved outcomes, and process excellence.

  Career Development   Lessons Learned   Knowledge Shelf  

Abstract
This article explains how the author has found tangible benefits of journaling for the project manager, how it aligns with the concept of lessons learned (your Personal Process Assets), and helps you increase productivity by refining your focus on priorities and your future.

Introduction
When I mention journaling, you might think of a teenage girl who is writing about a crush she has on a member of her favorite boy band, and how her little brother threw a bug at her. Perhaps you have gone beyond that and even tried to do one, but have found, as many do, the task too difficult to work into your routine. Maybe you suffer from writer’s block. What I would like to accomplish with this article is to explain the tangible benefits of journaling to the project manager, how it aligns with the concept of lessons learned (your Personal Process Assets), and helps you increase productivity by refining your focus on priorities and your future.

I will admit that I was skeptical at first. Of course, my examples above are from personal experience. I’ve read several books and articles mentioning the benefits of journaling. It’s been touted as the best thing you can do to help your career in magazines, such as the Harvard Business Review (Adler, 2016), and books, such as Timothy Ferriss’ 4-Hour Work Week (2011). Indeed, if you can get beyond the initial …

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