“Reflection is a mode of inquiry: a deliberate way of systematically recalling and examining experiences.”
You put the phone down from a call, hop into a meeting, come out of that and crack on with the next job, meet someone for lunch, report back to a client, check your cashflow, chase some invoices, go home and catch up with your family, make dinner, watch some TV, go to bed, wake up and do it all again.
- When do you look at what you’ve done and figure out what’s working, what’s not and if you’re enjoying any of it?
- When do you say “no more” or “I could have done better”?
- When do you tell yourself “well done”?
Why Should We Practice Self-Reflection?
One one level we can evaluate our responses to particular circumstances and events or people and get better at handling them and on another level we can evaluate the overall trajectory of our lives. We can see where we’re headed, if we’re happy with that and make adjustments as necessary.
When Should We Practice Self-Reflection?
It can be useful to do it for a few minutes each day or each week. Think about what has been on your mind, what is taking up your headspace and write it down.
It can also be helpful to do an end of month and end of year review looking back over your notes to see what you’ve learned.
“We write to taste life twice, in the moment and in retrospect.” Anaïs Nin
Jo Twiselton of Twist Consultants Ltd. has practiced self-reflection for many years.
She is an avid note-taker and uses her reflections in her own personal and business development as well as with her clients who are often managing complex change projects in large organisations.
Jo led a discussion with our members Gill Robinson, Nicola Smith, Andy Boothman, Helen Lindop, Nathan Whitbread, Anne-Marie Miller, David Brown, Vicky Bland, Dr Melissa Sedmak, and Andy Bargery on the benefits of reflecting on our behaviors, thoughts, attitudes, motivations, and desires.
These are some of the takeaways from the discussion:
✨ Getting into a routine of reflecting on each day at the same time is a powerful thing to do for both personal and business development.
✨ Asking yourself the same set of questions: what you did well and what you could do better or differently or what you will start, continue and stop and writing down the answers provides lots of learning.
✨ Thor A Rain explained how booking a regular appointment with “me, myself and I” as an end of year exercise and using the same book for notes means that its easy to check back on previous thoughts. This can be in a favourite coffee shop with favourite treats as an added incentive!
✨ Consistency is key – the more you build reflection in, the easier it gets and the more regularly you’re likely to do it.
✨ We need a ‘ingestion’ period to reflect on what we learn so looking back at the notes for a week or month can sometimes reveal deeper insights.
✨ Having a strong ‘why bother’ reason for running our business that goes beyond earning money can help us focus on the things that really matter.
✨ Keeping a file of nice things that clients say is particularly useful as a reminder of our value when things get a bit tough.
✨ Following an action plan, the Drive Quest or the 12-week year process all offer opportunities for reflection on things we’ve learned during a specific period of time.
✨ If you think you need to improve on something, e.g get better at finishing things, writing down everything you finish as you finish it gives an insight into how good you really are – a tip from Susie Tobias.
✨ Having an accountability buddy helps to get us into a routine and thinking out loud is a great way to answer our own questions.
Jo says her big takeaway from the discussion is that everyone knows the value reflection can bring as learning but it’s about making sure we make the time for it not waiting until we find the time.
Jo shares three takeaways from her reflections every week on LinkedIn so look out for her posts and get inspired!
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Jo Twiselton helps leaders deliver healthy & sustainable change in their organisations, minimising disruption and maximising engagement. She is a certified practitioner of the WRAW (Wellbeing & Resilience at Work) psychometric, the world’s first tool & survey to measure resilience and its impact on wellbeing at work. https://www.twistconsultants.co.uk/