People with goals succeed because they know where they are going

Earl Nightingale

ADRP 6-22 defines Leadership as the “process of influencing people by providing purpose, direction, and motivation to accomplish the mission and improve the organization (ADRP 6-22, 1-1). “Purpose gives subordinates the reason to achieve a desired outcome, Direction communicates what to accomplish, Motivation supplies the will to do what is necessary to accomplish the mission” (ADRP 6-22, 1-2). One of the most important responsibilities of a leader is to establish priorities. Priorities are how a leader provides purpose, direction, and motivation to achieve results. Priorities communicate what is important and where to invest time, energy, and resources. We operate in an extremely busy world, but those leaders who are able to take the time to stop, think, and reflect are more able to clearly communicate priorities, accomplish the mission, and improve their organization. Journaling is a powerful tool to reflect and reduce mental clutter, increase productivity, learn from your life, and cultivate self-improvement.

Your net worth to the world is usually determined by what remains after your bad habits are subtracted from your good ones

Benjamin Franklin

Maximize Productivity and Performance. For me, journaling starts with a brain dump. Here, I list out everything I can think of that I need to accomplish for the next day or week. Next, I establish priorities. I rank order my priorities according to value or deadline. For each task I include a time estimate. This allows me to visualize how long each task is expected to take. Finally, I schedule each task and assign a suspense. For long-term projects, I list out the next couple of steps needed to move the project forward. This process serves as a method to reduce mental clutter, while also increasing productivity.

Once all tasks have been laid out, prioritized, scheduled, and assigned a suspense, I establish an overarching goal andtop three priorities for each day. This is a method of providing focus throughout the day and ensuring I am committing my time and energy in accordance with the established priorities. By writing my priorities and daily goal, I am also creating a mechanism for accountability where, at the end of each day, I can verify whether or not I achieved those desired end states.

If you don’t design your own life plan, chances are you’ll fall into someone else’s plan. And guess what they have planned for you? Not much

Jim Rohn

Reflection and Personal Growth. After doing a brain dump, I reflect on my day. I write down three things for which I am grateful. No matter how stressful the day was, I always try to find those things that I am thankful for in my life. This is a great tool for building humility and recognizing those people or events in life that have meaning or impact. It also helps me keep my personal and professional priorities straight. This reflection helps me recognize that often it is not the tasks that were accomplished that day, but your impact on people or their impact on you that matters the most. Next, I acknowledge failure. I identify those things I failed to accomplish or achieve to standard that day. Again, a humbling act that helps me continue to grow and strive to be better the following day. Finally, I celebrate the wins. Here, I acknowledge when I adhered to my priorities and accomplished my goals. By taking the time to reflect and organize my daily events in this way I am able to clear away mental clutter and achieve greater perspective. Likewise, reviewing previous journal entries allows me to track my progress towards improving on a personal and professional level.

Start by doing what is necessary, then do what is possible; and suddenly you are doing the impossible

Francis of Assisi

Put Into Action. After the kids are asleep each night, I take 30 minutes at the dinner table to conduct my brain dump, establish goals and priorities, and reflect on the day. I prefer handwriting my thoughts in a journal vice using a digital medium. This allows me to have a written record of each day, hold myself accountable, and continually learn and improve. It also allows me an opportunity to sleep on something I may have struggled with and wake up in the morning prepared to tackle the problem with renewed vigor. Reflecting each night provides me the ability to go to bed with a clear understanding of what must get done the following day and the practical steps I can take to improve as a leader. Like a green notebook or a workout notebook, a reflection journal is a permanent growth record all leaders can use to document how they struggled through life’s challenges and became better leaders as a result.

Major Kyle Trottier is an armor officer, a graduate of Texas Christian University and holds a master’s degree in Organizational and Business Security Management from Webster University and a Master’s in Military Art and Science (Theater Operations) from the School of Advanced Military Studies (SAMS). MAJ Trottier is currently serving as the Executive Officer for 2-7IN, 1ABCT, 3ID.