Why Every Creative Leader Should Be Journaling

Oct 18

Some days are spent immersed in strategy, storytelling, and solving problems that don’t always have clear answers. The pace is fast. The expectations are high. And the ideas? They never stop coming. Some are game-changers. Others are noise. Knowing the difference is the real work.

That’s why journaling is one of the most useful tools for anyone in marketing or creative.

We don’t talk enough in our industry about the importance of slowing down — not in terms of productivity, but in terms of processing. Journaling is one of the most underrated tools a creative leader can use to sharpen thinking, unlock ideas, and lead with more intention.

The Creative Director’s Secret Weapon

Journaling isn’t just for writers or artists. It’s for thinkers. And if you lead in marketing or creative, that’s what you are. You're constantly thinking through markets, messaging, human behavior, and how to connect the dots in ways others don’t see.

A journal becomes a space to:

Capture sparks before they fade
Deconstruct what actually worked in a campaign (and what didn’t)
Clarify your vision before you share it with a team
Reflect on leadership wins and stumbles
Sketch half-baked ideas without judgment

It’s like having a private creative lab — one that never judges your bad ideas but often leads you to your best ones.

Journaling Builds Better Strategy

We often assume strategy is built in meetings or brainstorms. But the most impactful strategy is often born in solitude — when we step back and think more deeply about our audience, the culture, and the business problem at hand.

Regular journaling helps you see patterns in your thinking. You begin to notice what you're consistently drawn to, what you avoid, what energizes you. That awareness translates directly into stronger, more aligned decisions — creatively and operationally.

It’s a Leadership Tool, Too

Your team looks to you not just for direction, but for clarity. And you can’t give clarity if you don’t have it yourself.

Take 10–15 minutes in the morning to ask yourself simple questions — What matters most today? Where am I overcomplicating things? What am I avoiding? Reflecting on these questions can help you lead from a place of clarity, not chaos.

That mindset trickles down. When you show up clear, your team mirrors that energy.

You Don’t Need to Be a Writer

This isn’t about writing polished paragraphs. Some days, your journal is going to be a list of random thoughts. Other days, it’ll be a full debrief on a pitch that went sideways. The point isn’t perfection — it’s presence.

Use prompts if it helps. Here are a few good ones:

What’s one idea I can’t stop thinking about?
What problem keeps showing up, and what haven’t I tried?
What would I say if I wasn’t filtering myself?
What’s one thing I learned from my team this week?

Final Thought

We spend so much time feeding the algorithm, the client, the brand — but who’s feeding your mind?

Journaling is the creative leader’s way of staying sharp, centered, and original. It doesn’t cost anything. It doesn’t require a subscription. Just a notebook, a pen, and ten minutes of your time.

And in an industry that moves fast, those ten minutes might just be the most valuable part of your day.

Eddie Solis