If you want to become more productive, you have to focus on these three pillars in your day: planning, doing, and reflecting.
Planning allows you to organize what to do. Doing is precisely how you take action. Reflecting is when you make corrections to what you’ve already done, hoping that you will do better tomorrow.
Now, let’s delve into reflecting. One of the benefits is ensuring that you grow and learn, enabling continuous improvement.
As Ralph Waldo Emerson said, “Unless you try to do something beyond what you have already mastered, you will never grow.”
Take a big company, for example; it had to start small initially. However, it’s now significant because it consistently improves.
Similarly, you need to continuously improve to become significant by practicing reflection.
That is just one benefit. I will provide you with more reasons in this article on why you should start reflecting, so keep reading.
1. Self Awareness
Engaging in reflection provides you with the opportunity to introspect and evaluate your thoughts, feelings, and actions. It lets you learn more about yourself, including your strengths and weaknesses.
From my own experience, I discovered my passion through reflection.
I realized that I’m introverted.
I excel behind the screen.
I wrote extensively in college.
And what you are reading now is the product of my passion. I found it because I became aware of my strengths and weaknesses.
If you don’t think you have found your passion yet, start reflecting. Don’t let yourself regret in the future, not having a fulfilling life.
Not only does reflection help you find your passion, but it also guides you in almost everything you need to do, have to do, or shouldn’t do.
Let’s say you want to design your schedule; you’ll know how to design it according to your style.
If you want to pursue something or learn something new, you’ll know how to do it at your best.
Even when it comes to dating someone, you will know what type of person suits your personality. It’s a win-win solution for your life.
As Jack Canfield said, “Self-awareness is the first step in creating what you want and mastering your life.”
2. Learning and Growth
If you have never done reflection before, let me tell you how to do it briefly. Ask yourself questions such as:
- What did you achieve today?
- What did you do wrong today?
- What did you do right today?
- What do you think you can do to make tomorrow better? etc.
The questions depend on each person’s preference. You may have your own way of asking yourself questions, but the point is to reflect on a moment in your life, so you know how to improve later.
Not just by thinking; you actually need to record it, so you can experience the best growth. Write down your questions and your answers.
As Thomas Monson said, “When performance is measured, performance improves. When performance is measured and reported, the rate of improvement accelerates.”
The reason for that is clear. Since you ask yourself questions for improvement, you will likely try to answer with the right answer, which is the improvement itself.
And while you record it, it’s even better. The reason is, as David Allen said, “Your mind is for having ideas, not holding them.”
3. Goal Alignment
Reflection is usually done in the evening, before bedtime. That’s most likely the end of your day, so you wrap it up.
Here’s a quick fact: any activity you do before bedtime will actually affect your subconscious. The subconscious is what forms your memories and identities.
What you think before bed will affect what you think when you wake up. That’s why reflecting is good.
You basically already record what your goal is and how to do it better than yesterday. So the first thing that comes to your mind after waking up will probably be about your goal.
You will be more focused on your goal than ever.
In psychology, there is also a term called selective attention. It dictates that whatever you focus on, you will create more of it.
For example, if people stare at their phone before bed, they are likely to focus on that activity and open their phone first thing in the morning.
However, if people actually reflect and focus on their goals even before sleep, then in the morning, they are likely to focus on doing what matters to their goals.
Remember what Thomas Edison said, “Never go to sleep without a request to your subconscious.”
Bottom Line
Incorporating reflection into your daily routine emerges as a powerful tool for personal and professional development. By embracing the triad of planning, doing, and reflecting, you pave the way for continuous improvement.
Reflecting cultivates self-awareness, helping you identify strengths, weaknesses, and passions. Moreover, it serves as a compass for aligning your goals with actions, ensuring a more focused and purposeful journey.
As you delve into the reflective process, remember the wise words of Ralph Waldo Emerson, Jack Canfield, Thomas Monson, and David Allen, highlighting the profound impact of self-awareness and goal alignment on your path to growth and mastery.
So, take the time to reflect, ask meaningful questions, record your insights, and set the stage for an empowered and intentional life.
