Journaling for Better Engineering Management
How Journaling Can Help Engineering Managers Improve Their Efficiency
Last week's article, The Good Engineering Manager Framework, was the most successful piece I've written since I started this newsletter. It was incredible how many feedback I received, and I can't thank all my readers enough for reaching out to me.
This response helped me realize that there's a strong need for a structured blueprint that first-time engineering managers can follow as they step into this role and for this reason, I'm deeply committed to improving this framework.
A common observation was that, while the framework was compelling and easy to grasp, it needed more pragmatic examples to illustrate how its principles could be applied.
Taking this feedback to heart, I've decided to dive deeper into some of its concepts in upcoming newsletter editions. The first and most requested topic was Journaling.
While I've previously touched on journaling when discussing note-taking, I haven't delved into the topic in depth.
Therefore, today, we'll explore more this topic, focusing particularly on:
❓ Understanding Journaling and its importance for Engineering Managers
⚙️ Exploring how Journaling works in practice
💡 Sharing some tips to make your journaling more effective
Let's get started!
❓What is Journaling
Journaling, at its core, is the act of recording one's thoughts, experiences, and observations on paper or in a digital format. It has been a practice deeply rooted in human history, with its origins dating back to ancient civilizations. From the ancient Egyptians using papyrus scrolls to the Renaissance scholars filling their notebooks with ideas, the act of journaling has been a means of capturing the essence of life's moments and reflections.
Journaling for Engineering Managers
While Journaling is a common practice that doesn't necessarily relate with the engineering field, it is an essential for Engineering Managers and Leaders.
Some of the benefit include:
🤔 Self-Reflection: managers and leaders can use journaling to reflect on leadership styles, interactions with team members, and decision-making processes.
❤️ Emotional Processing: leading teams can be emotionally taxing. Journaling allows leaders to navigate their feelings after tough conversations, stressful projects, or organizational changes, ensuring they remain emotionally balanced and responsive.
📅 Memory Preservation: leaders can record significant meetings, feedback, team behaviours and milestones. This not only helps in tracking progress but also in ensuring that valuable insights or feedback aren't lost over time.
🎯 Goal Tracking: managers can set organizational or team goals and monitor progress through journaling.
💡 Creativity: in leadership, innovation is crucial. A journal can be a space for brainstorming, reflecting on new strategies, or exploring creative solutions to challenges
📚 Learning: the business world is always evolving. Leaders can note down lessons learned from successes, failures, or industry changes, ensuring continuous personal and organizational growth.
✅ Habit Formation: effective leadership often involves cultivating positive habits, whether it's time management, delegation, or communication. A journal can help leaders track and refine these habits, ensuring optimal performance.
Cognitive Load Theory
Cognitive Load Theory, proposed by John Sweller in the 1980s, suggests that our working memory has a limited capacity. When the demands of information processing exceed this capacity, learning and comprehension can be affected.
Cognitive Load Theory categorizes cognitive load into three types:
Intrinsic load: refers to the inherent difficulty of a task or situation.
Extraneous load: relates to irrelevant information or activities that distract from understanding the task or situation.
Germane load: consists of processes that facilitate the creation of long-term memory structures.
Engaging in journaling involves transferring information, experiences, or thoughts from one's working memory to an external medium. This act of off-loading lightens the cognitive weight on the working memory, facilitating a smoother processing and reflection on the information.
Moreover, of the three types presented, germane load is the only one beneficial for learning and journaling can significantly enhance this type of load while mitigating the others.
Let's see how:
Intrinsic Load Management: journaling aids in deconstructing intricate concepts or experiences into bite-sized, digestible chunks. By segmenting complex ideas or experiences, you mitigate the intrinsic cognitive challenge of juggling intricate information simultaneously.
Extraneous Load Reduction: Cognitive Load Theory emphasizes the importance of reducing extraneous cognitive load. This pertains to the unnecessary mental effort resulting from how information is presented. By journaling, you can craft structured entries (using templates for example) that organize your thoughts clearly and concisely. This reduces the extraneous cognitive load when reviewing your entries later.
Reflection and Active Learning: engaging in reflective journaling encourages you to actively process and connect your experiences with existing knowledge. This process can contribute to a deeper understanding of the subject matter, as you're engaging in cognitive efforts that align with germane load, which supports learning and understanding.
⚙️ How Journaling Works
Starting a journaling habit can be as simple or as elaborate as you make it. However, to ensure consistency and derive the maximum benefit, it's crucial to understand the basics and perhaps even follow a structured approach.
Journaling Basics
Journaling doesn't require fancy tools or elaborate rituals. At its heart, it needs consistency and commitment. Here are some simple steps to get started:
Choose Your Medium: This could be a physical notebook, a digital app, or even voice notes. The key is to select something you're comfortable with.
Set Aside Time: Like any habit, journaling needs regularity. Carve out a specific time of your day – maybe during the morning, before bed, or right after work.
Start Small: Don't burden yourself with writing pages on day one. Begin with a few lines, and let it grow organically.
What to Journal
While free-flow journaling offers its own benefits, in my experience a structured approach often simplifies the process, particularly on challenging days. Here's the straightforward template I prefer:
Date & Time: this helps monitor progress and provides insight into your journaling habits.
Mood Snapshot: summarize your feelings with a word or emoji.
Notes of the Day: highlight pivotal events or insight from the day.
Discovered Today: share knowledge or insights acquired from readings, interactions, or personal reflections.
Interesting Links: articles or resources you found enlightening or valuable.
Gratitude: list down something you're thankful for – even this small act can reshape your outlook!
Journaling Templates
There is a multitude of templates available for journaling. Your choice may depend on the software you're using, the detail with which you wish to log your day, among other factors.
I've previously shared my Obsidian template, which includes a journaling system that's ready to use. Given the widespread use of Notion, for this article, I've also crafted a simple example of a journaling system for Notion. I’m sure there are better options, but this could be a good starting point.