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Side Hustlers Should Journal Every Day

Journaling is amazing.

While I believe that everyone should journal daily, I especially believe that side hustlers should journal daily.

Journaling is a fantastic way to get your thoughts out in front of you. It helps you work through whatever you need to work through, and also allows you to reach any goal you set, as quickly as possible.

And before I get into the content, I want to share a brand new freebie that will really help you get your journaling off to a great start. Introducing: 30 Days of Side Hustle Clarity Journaling Prompts. With these prompts, you will:

• Get clear on your side hustle goals.
• Figure out not just WHAT you want, but WHY you want it.
• Take action on your desires and get on the road to living the life you want.

Side Hustlers Should Journal: There’s No Wrong Way To Journal

First things first, there is NO WRONG WAY TO JOURNAL. Let’s get that straight from the get-go. For so long, I was under the misguided impression that the only way to get the most out of a journaling session was to do it with a pen and paper, like in a notebook, because you NEED to actually write things down.

And that stopped me because I have the penmanship of a 12 year old boy.

I know it’s mostly because my mind thinks quicker than my hand can write, and it leads to a bunch of loopy swirls and slashes that allegedly are letters, but who actually knows what I’ve written by the time I’ve, you know, actually written it down.

Fortunately, that is inaccurate.

If writing in a notebook works for you, then go ahead and do that. But if you’re like me and your handwriting is only barely legible? Then don’t worry about it and use your computer. I am a huge fan of a writing program called Scrivener, which is a platform I also use to write my novels, but is great for free writing, or even just blogging.

Or you can just use Word. Or the Notes section on your phone. Really, there is NO wrong way to go about journaling.

Side Hustlers Should Journal: How To Start

Everyone journals in their own way. If you’re completely new to journaling, the best way is to just start writing and see where the world take you.

It’s that simple. If you want to name your journal, and treat it as a conversation, then go ahead and do that.

Often I’ll just start writing like I’m talking to the void, but you can also just treat it like you’re talking to your best friend.

And then just…write. Write about your day, write about the events that happened, the things you accomplished, the things you wanted to accomplish, but didn’t.

Write about things that went right and also be sure not to forget the things that went wrong. Those lessons you learn from things that don’t go the way you hope are so important and will benefit you down the line.

Side Hustlers Should Journal: Allows You To Wind Down Your Day

Side hustlers should make time to journal, especially in the evenings, because it allows you to wind down your day. You have so much going on, do so many things between your day job, your side hustle, your life in general. By adding journaling to your routine, you to sit down and just get everything out of your mind at the end of the day.

You can get a lot done in a day, but you can also leave a lot of projects still hanging. It just happens sometimes.

When you journal, you’re taking into account all the things you’ve done, along with all the things you want to do, need to do, or even get to do the next day.

More on that below.

Side Hustlers Should Journal: Allows You To Prepare For Tomorrow

As I mentioned above, journaling allows you to prepare for the next day. Once you get out all the things that you did not finish, or want to get to, you can get organized. And that means you plan your next day or next few day with more intention.

Instead of getting up every day and going after your daily to-do list without intention (and check out Episode 27 of 10 Minutes Before Dinner, where I talk about why it’s important to keep your to-do list short), journaling (and keeping track of your journal entries) allows you to pick up where you left off the day before, and ensures that you finish every task you need to complete.

Side Hustlers Should Journal: It’ll Help You Sleep Better

Do you ever get in bed, but can’t fall asleep because your brain is buzzing with all the things you need to do over the coming days?

Journaling can help with that.

When you journal, when you wind down and prepare for the next day, you’re telling your brain, “Hey, I know what I need to do, so you don’t need to keep running through it over and over.”

Your brain knows that you’ve written it down, so it’s not going to nag you, keep you from falling asleep because it’s somewhere that you can easily access it the next day, and pick right up where you left off.

Side Hustlers Should Journal: Allows You To Acknowledge Your Wins

Acknowledging wins, big and small (especially small) is critical for side hustle success.

When you journal, think about all of your wins and write them down. If you don’t acknowledge any and all wins (and it’s pretty much impossible to get through a day without at least ONE win), then you will feel stagnant. It’ll feel like you’re not making nearly as much progress as you hope, which leads to stress and ultimately, burnout.

But if you acknowledge your wins, every single day, then you’re going to end up not just realizing just how much you’ve done, but you’ll be further motivated to keep up those winning ways in the future.

And here’s another shoutout about the importance of acknowledging your wins, big and small, in Episode 5 of 10 Minutes Before Dinner.

Side Hustlers Should Journal: It Can Be A Mini Brainstorming Session

I come up with a ton of ideas when I journal. It can be an idea for a blog post, or an idea for something to talk about during 10 Minutes Before Dinner, or for a new opt-in, or a digital product. No matter what, I come up with a ton of ideas, it’s just like the planned brainstorming sessions I have when I’m planning out my blog content.

Want to learn how to plan an entire year of blog content in just one day? Check out my free, 5-day email course, Content Explosion.

And don’t forget to check back on your journal from the night before when you plan your next day, so you don’t forget all those great ideas. To make new ideas stand out and easy for me to see the next day, I’ll make sure to bold them in my journal (you can highlight them too), so it’s easy for me to find them.

Side Hustlers Should Journal: It Keeps Your Goals Right In Front Of You

There’s no point in setting a goal if you’re going to write it down and never go back to it. When you journal, you have your goals in front of you, every single day. I like to keep my monthly goals at the forefront of my journaling, and that way I see them, and can set my goals with more intention.

When you set your goals with intention, and when you base your days of your goals and how to meet them, you do meet them all that much faster.

Side Hustlers Should Journal: It Helps You Work Through Roadblocks

Writing through problems is a great way to find further clarity. If you had a frustrating day with your side hustle (or just your day in general), just journal it out. When you journal about a problem, you really set it to the front of your mind and it’s your only focus.

And when you focus on whatever roadblock you’re encountering, you eventually find all the ways in which you can overcome it. Sometimes in blogging and side hustling, you run into things you don’t know how to do, or don’t know how to go about accomplishing. When you journal, you can come up with a whole list of potential solutions. Then, you get to walk away from the day satisfied that you have a plan, rather than going to sleep frustrated that you’re stuck and don’t know where to go.

Side Hustlers Should Journal: You Get To See How Far You’ve Come

Feel like you’re not making as much progress as you’d like? That’s why side hustlers should journal. Journaling means that you get to read through your journals again, and you get to see how far you’ve really come.

Since blogging, having a side hustle, starting your own online business is a long game, it’s important to remember that you are making progress, even if you can’t see it every single day. I like reading my journals once a month, so that way I can look back and see all the progress I’ve made in four weeks.

And credit to that recommendation comes from David Cameron Gikandi’s book, A Happy Pocket Full Of Money (which yes, will one day be featured in Required Reading). In the book, Gikandi talks about journaling, and how important it is to read through, so you can see the strides you make. I started journaling in January of 2019, and I am excited to go back to my January journals in December to see just how much progress I made in a year.

Ready To Start Your Own Side Hustle?

Have a lot to talk about, but don’t have the website to guide your readers to? Now is the perfect time to get started.

Now is the perfect time to take my free email course, where I teach you how to plan a year’s worth of blog content in just one day. This training takes away all the mystery behind figuring out what you’re going to write from week to week and helps you plan the ultimate in blogging content that your audience will absolutely love.

Don’t forget to get hosting (plus a free domain) for as little as $3.95/month through Siteground. You can read why I choose Siteground to host my websites in my post, 6 Reasons I Host My Side Hustle On Siteground (And You Should Too).

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