4 Easy Ways to Journal for Female Entrepreneurs

Written by Carol Brennan

During the pandemic, I felt an anxious knot in my stomach. Perhaps you know the feeling. I had so much to do but didn’t know how to get started. I run a journal coaching business. And if you work for yourself, you’ll know how stressful it can be. There’s the financial stress of unpredictable income. You have quite a few different hats to wear, including VA, sales rep and book-keeper, on top of everything you have to do with clients. I began thinking more about 4 Easy Ways to Journal for Female Entrepreneurs.

The entrepreneurial life has its fair share of stresses. On bad days you feel as if your mindset challenges, like imposter syndrome, are magnified when you have your own business. But the good news is that these challenges are easier to manage when you work for yourself. Most employers wouldn’t give their employees time to journal in the morning. But you can when you’re self-employed. Journaling is a proven way to manage stress and alleviate depression and anxiety. And for me, I got my pen out and started to write using the techniques that I’d honed over the years.

1) The Thought Dump

I start by writing down my thoughts in stream-of-consciousness journaling. This is a practice I frequently go back to when I feel overwhelmed. This practice allows me to determine what is a negative, stressed thought and transform it into a kinder, more realistic thought. I ask myself:

Is this an old thought?
What triggered this thought?
What would be a more logical thought?

This would help me get a grip on my thinking and move to a more positive mindset.

2) The Inner Mentor Dialogue

Once I’d get a handle on my thoughts, something else I like to do is the inner mentor dialogue. I created this journaling technique when I began training to become a certified journal facilitator. I combined the dialogue technique I was learning about in my journaling studies with inner mentor work as described in the book ‘Playing Big’ by Tara Mohr.

The inner mentor dialogue involves dialoguing with the you that you’ve always wanted to be or the version of you who is several years down the line and has already achieved your goals. Basically, you ask your inner mentor questions you have like:

How do I get from where I am to where you are?
What’s the most important thing for me to know this year?
How did you overcome challenge x?

My clients and I achieved wonderful results with this technique. The inner mentor dialogue helped us become more confident and travel along some very interesting pathways. I had the confidence to go on working holidays to Spain and Canada. And a client who was burned-out from one-to-one work created a mastermind program which she sold out. She created time freedom for herself and maximized her income.

3) Scripting

Another technique I like to alternate with the inner mentor dialogue is scripting. This is where you write about a goal you would like to achieve as if you’ve already achieved it.

Much of the time I don’t fully hit my goals. But it doesn’t matter because journaling about achieving my goals puts me in the frame of mind to receive abundance. Often a totally unexpected event occurs that would move me closer to achieving my dreams. For example, where I have set money goals, often I get money from somewhere I wouldn’t have thought of.

4) The CEO Date

Every week, I also engage in a review or CEO date. I conduct modified versions of these evaluations on a daily, weekly, monthly, quarterly, and yearly basis. This technique is more structured than the previous two and involves asking myself strategic questions such as:

What did I achieve?
What went well?
What lessons did I learn?

These daily reviews gradually build into the weekly, monthly, quarterly, and yearly reviews. I track my progress and adjust my course, leveraging the scripting and inner mentor techniques to cultivate a receptive mindset. The more consistently I apply these techniques, the more the anxious knot in my stomach decreases, and the more I feel calm, confident, and in control. This enables me to tackle my daily tasks and achieve my goals with greater ease.

Author: Carol Brennan is a coach and writer who helps women entrepreneurs transform stress into strength through writing. Grab her FREE journal “Reclaim Your Sanity” to unlock clarity and confidence.