In coaching, insights can come quickly. We talk, we reflect, we gain clarity. However, without a daily practice of intentions and reflection, most of those insights are lost in the daily routines and tasks. Writing can change that. Writing is thinking — and without clear intentional thinking, we often repeat our old patterns.
Why am I writing about this topic?
- In my coaching practice, I observe an increasing need to make coaching and developmental processes more effective by remaining intentional, focused on what matters, and in touch with oneself amidst distractions that easily lead to disconnection.
- I want to encourage the use of writing as a tool to amplify development throughout the coaching process. A lot has been written about the power of journaling and therapeutic writing, so I will avoid repeating what others have already articulated so well. I know from research, personal experience, and working with clients that what I’m proposing has a significant impact. Over the past few years, I have been digitally journaling by typing my thoughts and writing on my iPad with an Apple Pencil. Additionally, I have filled more than 40 beautiful Moleskine notebooks with handwritten thoughts.
- Today, I will briefly focus on one useful approach to writing.
Writing as thinking: slowing down to see clearly
Writing is usually slower than thinking in our heads or speaking. Of course, we can write without a clear purpose, take notes to capture information, or write to communicate something clearly to others. But we can also write for ourselves.
There are many useful ways, such as free-writing, where we pour out what lies below our conscious awareness, or conscious writing, where we slow down and think with clarity, to mention a couple. Conscious writing has a profound impact on the quality of our choices — our actions, thoughts, and emotions. Writing also gives us a subject–object perspective. What is inside us is mirrored back on the page. We see our thoughts from a distance, and this new perspective helps us clarify and sharpen our thinking. Writing becomes a tool for deep conversations with ourselves. It can even replace the automatic inner voice that usually governs our behaviors and reactions.
Many clients think writing must be long and difficult. But writing is simply a new habit. We already spend time writing for others — emails, reports, messages. Why not make time to write for ourselves? It doesn’t need to take more than 5–10 minutes. Even a few bullet points are enough. Without writing, we easily forget our coaching intentions.
Writing is the catalyst for change — it anchors what we want to remember and practice.
First-person action research: more than reflective journaling – a method of growth
This brings me to a broader idea. Writing is not only a habit of reflection; it can also become a method of research into your own life. When used this way, writing supports not only clarity but also intentional change — and this is where the concept of first-person action research comes in.
Why is this important in coaching? Because coaching is a thought-provoking, creative, and developmental process. Development can happen horizontally (developing new skills and knowledge) and vertically (developing new ways of sense-making and new mental structures).
Intentional development is both inner and outer work. Yes, it is work, because we are “work in progress” until we die. We can resist change and call it “authenticity,” we can let the environment shape us, or we can engage intentionally in self-design and self-creation. Isn’t that the ultimate purpose of our creative capability — to create ourselves?
This requires self-awareness, self-knowledge, agency, and disciplined actions to turn insights into practical behaviors. Self-awareness often emerges through self-discovery, which can result from quality investigation. This concept even has an official name in academia, though you don’t need to be an academic to benefit from it. The method is called first-person action research (also known as first-person participatory action research or action inquiry). The “first person” is you. It is participatory because you are both the researcher and the subject of the research — you actively participate in your own life. It is action research because its purpose is to understand what prompts change, how transformation occurs, and what you learn in the very moments you take action.
It integrates theory and practice. It involves deliberate, intentional thinking and acting. It invites curiosity, open-mindedness, attentiveness, and courage to observe, experiment, ask questions, and draw conclusions. Most of all, it invites you to set aside self-criticism and fear so you can see yourself more clearly.
Writing is your main tool: observing yourself, clarifying your intentions, recording your experiments, and noticing the patterns of your own growth.
Self-coaching or first-person action research?
Last time, I wrote about the process of self-coaching. Today’s article builds on that idea but introduces another lens: first-person action research.
Think of self-coaching as applying coaching tools to yourself — asking questions, reframing, and keeping your growth alive between sessions. First-person action research, in contrast, is about adopting a researcher’s mindset toward your own life — observing yourself with curiosity, documenting your experiments, and learning systematically from your own data.
If you are a client and want to maximize the benefits of coaching, consider incorporating first-person action research between sessions with your coach. This means treating your development like a small but powerful research project: observing yourself, recording your thoughts, and experimenting with new behaviors in daily life. If you’re a coach, encourage your clients to spend a few minutes on intentional written reflection.
A simple daily practice: first-person action research
Here’s a really simple way to begin:
Morning (5–8 minutes): Write down 2–3 bullet points:
- Regarding my coaching objectives, how do I want to show up today? How do I want to feel, think, and behave?
- What is a small experiment or action I will carry out today?
Evening (5–8 minutes): Reflect with 2–3 notes:
- What was significant in my experience today?
- What did I notice or learn about myself, others, or the situation?
- What might I want to repeat, improve, or do differently tomorrow?
This is enough. Simple, short, and powerful. Over time, these notes become the “data” of your own research, showing you patterns, progress, and possibilities for new choices.
In the end, writing is not just about words on paper — it is about choosing to see yourself more clearly, and to grow with intention.
-Leda