Keeping a Work Journal: A Spiritual and Practical Guide for Catholic Female Entrepreneurs
‘’Write down the vision; Make it plain upon tablets, so that one who reads it may run” (Habakkuk 2:2).
As Catholic women striving to make a difference in business, we often face unique challenges. We want to lead with integrity, innovate responsibly, and stay true to our faith—all while running a successful business. The question arises: How do we balance these responsibilities with our spiritual growth? One powerful tool that can help us navigate this journey is the work journal.
Keeping a work journal is more than just a productivity hack; it’s an intentional practice that can deepen your entrepreneurial journey, strengthen your faith, and help you keep your business aligned with God’s purpose.
1. Reflecting on Your Daily Activities With God
Journaling offers you a moment of reflection—an opportunity to look back on your daily actions through a spiritual lens. As you record your day’s achievements, challenges, and plans, invite God into the conversation. This process can resemble an Ignatian Examen: reviewing your day with gratitude, asking for guidance, and discerning where God’s grace has been at work.
For instance, you might write about a challenging client meeting and reflect on how God’s presence helped you stay composed. Or, perhaps there was a moment when you were unsure how to respond to a problem, and you sought guidance through prayer. By documenting these moments, you will develop the habit of recognizing God’s active role in your business.
Prompt: In which moments today did I feel God’s presence guiding my decisions?
2. Aligning Your Business Goals With Your Faith
As an entrepreneur, setting goals and tracking your progress is crucial. But as a Catholic entrepreneur, it's equally important that your goals are aligned with God’s will. A work journal helps you ensure your business aspirations aren’t just profit-driven—they are also purpose-driven.
When setting your goals, take a moment to write about their alignment with your values. Ask yourself: Are these goals helping you become a better servant leader? Are they contributing positively to the world and the people around you? Answering these questions regularly will help you recalibrate your business’ direction, ensuring you stay rooted in your faith.
Prompt: How does my goal for this week align with my Catholic values? How can I use my business to serve others?
3. Learning From Your Challenges
Entrepreneurship is full of trials, but they are not without meaning. Writing in your work journal will help you turn difficulties into spiritual lessons. When something doesn’t go as planned—be it a failed marketing campaign or a missed business opportunity—record the experience, and prayerfully consider what God might be teaching you through it.
Perhaps it’s an invitation to grow in humility, to trust in God’s timing, or to build resilience. By documenting the challenges and looking for the spiritual insight within them, you will not only improve as a business leader but also deepen your spiritual life.
Prompt: What challenge did I face today, and how can I see it as an opportunity to grow in faith?
4. Practicing Gratitude in Your Business
A work journal is an excellent tool for cultivating gratitude. As entrepreneurs, it’s easy to get caught up in what’s lacking as we seek more clients, better revenue, and bigger networks. Instead, take time each day to write about what you are grateful for in your business journey. Gratitude can transform your perspective, leading you away from scarcity and toward abundance.
Gratitude journaling also serves as a reminder that every success, big or small, is a gift from God. It keeps you grounded in humility and strengthens your relationship with Him, recognizing that He is the true source of all good things in your business.
Prompt: What am I grateful for today in my work as an entrepreneur? How can I thank God for this blessing?
5. Documenting Your Wins to Combat Doubt
Entrepreneurship can often lead to moments of self-doubt, especially when progress seems slow or setbacks occur. In your work journal, make a habit of documenting your wins—big and small. By writing about your achievements, you create a record of God’s faithfulness and your progress.
On challenging days, looking back on these wins can lift up your spirit and remind you that, with God’s grace, you’ve already overcome many obstacles. This sense of encouragement is invaluable, particularly when doubt tries to cloud your vision.
Prompt: What win did I experience today, and how did God’s grace contribute to it?
6. Inviting the Holy Spirit to Inspire Your Creativity
As a Catholic female entrepreneur, you are a co-creator with God. When you’re feeling stuck, creatively drained, or unsure about your next move, use your work journal to write a prayer, inviting the Holy Spirit to guide your thoughts and decisions. Surrender your uncertainties, and write about the inspirations that follow.
This practice will not only deepen your relationship with the Holy Spirit but also open you to the kind of divine inspiration that can lead to creative and innovative solutions for your business.
Prompt: Holy Spirit, what new ideas should I consider for my business today?
7. Writing Prayers and Intentions for Your Business
Your work journal is also a space to write prayers for your business. Whether you are praying for a new opportunity, for patience in dealing with a difficult situation, or for the well-being of your employees and clients, putting these prayers on paper makes them tangible.
By recording your intentions, you will make your business an extension of your faith journey. You’ll also create a beautiful testament to how God is answering your prayers over time, even in ways you might not have expected.
Prompt: What specific prayer do I want to lift up for my business today?
Conclusion: A Sacred Practice
Keeping a work journal as a Catholic female entrepreneur is a sacred practice—one that will help you align your work with God’s will, recognize His presence in your daily activities, and grow spiritually as you grow your business. It will also help you stay intentional, grateful, and faith-centered in all you do.
Take the time each day or week to sit down with your journal and pour your heart onto the pages. You’ll find that your business becomes more than a means of making a living but a calling, an offering, and a way to live out your faith in the world.
May God bless your entrepreneurial journey, and may your work journal be a source of insight, comfort, and inspiration as you navigate the path He has laid before you.
Dr. Glory Enyinnaya is a management consultant who worked at Accenture before founding the consulting firm Kleos Advisory. Her research, which focuses on the role of entrepreneurs as change agents, has been published in top-tier publications such as the Harvard Business Review. She is a member of the faculty of Pan-Atlantic University in Nigeria. Her hobbies include blogging at www.gloryenyinnaya.com.
Her journey as a Catholic began with her conversion in 2009 (providentially, it was the Year of St. Paul—arguably Christianity’s most famous convert). Even though she entered the church under St. Paul’s patronage, it’s Our Lady who has had the strongest influence on Glory, beginning with her choice of "Mary"’ as her baptismal name. Today, Glory is consecrated to Mary according to the de Montfort Way and serves as an official of the Legion of Mary in the Archdiocese of Lagos. She is a cooperator of Opus Dei and an Associate of the Society of the Holy Child Jesus.