Reflection Time
Do you make time during your day for reflection? What about during your week?
It can be a challenge to fit that time into our schedule because we have so many different activities, thoughts, and obligations to tend to during the day. However, reflection time can look and feel different for each of us depending on the situation and intention.
You don't need to spend hours reflecting on something if that isn't what works for you! But if reflection time is something you want to incorporate into your routine, where does it fit?
I have been thinking a lot lately about where I fit reflection time into my own schedule. Until I actually sat down and thought about it, I was making myself believe that I didn’t reflect on things enough. Once I seriously started to review what my weeks consist of, I realized that even though I may not dedicate a whole day or several hours to reflection time in a week, I do spend chunks of time during the week to reflect on my goals, what is important, my values and how things are going with my business.
For example, after I see a client I reflect on the session and have a series of questions that I ask myself. First, I do a self check-in and then I reflect on what I discovered, what worked/didn’t, and how I want to move forward. Each week, I also have some admin time set aside to review my quarterly goals to see if things are in alignment with where I want them to be or to see if I need to make adjustments.
There are definitely chunks of time that I dedicate to reflecting on my services and operations of my business, but there are also times that I will just be taking a walk or sitting on my porch and reflect on things going on in life in an organic way. The space and time just happen to be right for that reflection time to take place. It happens unplanned and unstructured.
Ways To Reflect
There is no prescribed way to reflect and there certainly isn’t a right or wrong way to engage in reflection. Sometimes we need to reflect on things in a structured and familiar environment while other times we need to get into a whole new environment. When I get outside of my usual routine or put myself in different environments, I tend to think and reflect on things differently than when I am in my office or sitting on my couch.
Some people like to journal while others like to talk things out. For some, coaching offers the space to reflect. For others, sitting alone and thinking about the day or week can be helpful. We all have different ways of processing and reflecting. It is not a one size fits all activity.
Reflection doesn’t have to be solitary either. Whether it is in a partnership, family, or in a team work environment, reflecting on things is a great way to learn and gain insights that may not have been realized otherwise. Having regular check-ins (planned or otherwise) is a great way to reflect.
Below are some of the questions you could ask yourself (or others) as you take time to reflect on a day or week or even a year.
What are some other questions you could add to this list?
Benefits of Reflecting
Taking time to reflect helps raise the awareness of ourselves and those around us. Reflection is a great way to learn from the past and then plan for what comes next. It also helps us in being more creative and understanding.
Reflecting can benefit our ability to:
Learn & grow → asking ourselves what works and what doesn’t helps us modify how we move forward. Reflecting helps us look at our mistakes or challenges so that we can overcome or avoid pitfalls in the future. It helps promote our strengths and abilities.
Plan & set goals → knowing what we can realistically do or achieve helps us get to where we want to be. It helps us be a little more strategic about our direction by giving us some insight about what worked in the past and what may be a good course of action for the future.
Unleash creativity and innovative thinking → when we give our mind a chance to slow down and think about what it has absorbed, we can take what we have learned and come up with creative solutions, ideas, or decisions. We have room to explore the possibilities.
Promote different views and perspectives → we sometimes need to examine different ways of thinking or understand things at a deeper level and that may take time to reflect on what we know or don’t know about a situation. We give ourselves time to challenge biases or assumptions. Maybe we listen with more empathy or approach things with more curiosity.
In Summary
Making time in your schedule for reflection has many benefits. There are no prescribed methods or ways to reflect, but having some questions to ask yourself is just one way to start. You get to find when and how reflecting works the best for you and your life.
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