One-minute habit. Infinite Potential

Humanity’s greatest creative minds share a crucial practice: reflection, which helps in deepening their understanding of themselves, the world around them, and their craft.

Put simply, reflection is intentional thought — an opportunity to pause, observe, and sort through ideas, feelings, and behaviors, creating the conditions necessary to grow, succeed, and thrive.

But reflection isn’t only reserved for creative geniuses. Research shows that employees who spend 15 minutes at the end of their day on their work perform 23% better after 10 days than those who don’t. In 2011, a study published in The Journal of Psychology revealed that college students who were more self-reflective were more happy, productive, and less burnt out.

The benefits of a consistent reflective practice are obvious: improved work, productivity, and mental health. But if the return on investment of reflection is so high, you might be wondering, “Why am I not reflecting more often?” I’d encourage you to reflect on that. If you do, you’ll find yourself in one (or more) of the following buckets:

• You don’t know how. Maybe you’ve tried but didn’t know where to begin. Reflection is a process. If you don’t know the process, it can lead to feeling stuck, overwhelmed, and discouraged.
• You don’t like the process. Reflection requires you to get out of your typical mode of operation, your comfort zone. In this fast-paced world obsessed with perfection, slowing down to explore ourselves and make a mess is uncomfortable. Reflection requires patience and vulnerability, neither of which is actually fun.
• You don’t like the results. I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again: The most dangerous lies are the ones we tell ourselves. These lies become apparent during times of reflection. When you reflect effectively, you quickly become aware of your shortcomings and weaknesses so you get defensive and run away.
• You have shit to do. You have places to be. You have no time to waste. Reflection probably feels like a waste of time. photoBut what’s the point of going fast if you’re headed in the wrong direction?

I’ve been guilty of all of the above and I’ve tried countless approaches to become more reflective. There are thousands of resources out there, from apps to journals to prompts and practices. What’s worked for me is a simple daily retro. The best part? It only takes a minute to do and can be done with pen and paper or digitally. 

Here’s how I do it.

At the end of my day, I ask myself three simple questions:

1. What’s going well? 
2. What’s kinda going well?
3. What’s not going well?

I then give each question an honest, one-sentence answer. Keyword: honest.

After a few days, patterns begin to emerge. If I find myself writing the same thing for the “going well” part, I find new ways to push myself. Patterns in the “kinda well” bucket prompt me to focus on my daily habits, values, and relationships. If something keeps “not going well,” I naturally begin developing a plan, shifting my behavior, or tweaking my mindset.

This simple approach of writing 3 sentences every night has allowed me to circumvent the common challenges of reflection, and to absorb its benefits. It isn’t rocket science. It’s about looking at yourself in the mirror, recalibrating your compass, and letting your truth (and your willingness to face it) guide you.