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The Power of Weekly Reflection

3 December 2024

Janie reviewed her notes from weekly reflections and realized that adding a regular reflection habit is worth the time and effort it takes. 

Tags: balance, janie read, writing

It’s very easy for me to get caught up in the busyness of day-to-day work and home life and not take time to reflect. I often move from one task to the next without taking time to pause and learn from my experiences. At the end of October, I implemented a short weekly reflection practice. Taking a few minutes each week helps me to focus on what went well, what didn’t, and what I learned, instead of catastrophizing and only thinking about the things I wish I had done differently.

I have long resisted doing any sort of regular reflection practice. In recent years, I’ve found a December reflection practice to be very helpful, but weekly reflection wasn’t something I consistently made time for until recently. On October 25th, I implemented a 15-minute Friday reflection habit and have tried to consistently make time for this each week. For me, it’s important that I carve out the time and not schedule anything else in my calendar. If I don’t do this, I tend to put other tasks ahead of my reflection and then I don’t end up doing it at all.

To get started, you’ll need questions to help guide your thinking. Here are the questions I have been using.

  • What went well this week?
  • What didn’t go well this week?
  • What did I learn this week and what could I have done differently?
  • What am I grateful for this week?

I like this combination of questions because it helps me differentiate between things I am proud of and the things I could do better in the future. It helps me to start with “what went well” because I tend to be a negative thinker and gravitate toward what didn’t go well. Starting with the positive helps keep me from ruminating. I also really like ending with gratitude because I enjoy ending my practice on a positive note. Some weeks the things I am grateful for are large and other times they’re quite small, but I can always find something.

If you’re interested in trying weekly reflections, I recommend choosing a consistent time each week to do it. For me, Friday afternoon works well because it helps me close out my workweek and start fresh the following Monday. I have had two Fridays since I started this habit where something came up and I didn’t take the time for reflection. I’ve found that I really notice a difference when I don’t take the time to reflect. The next week never goes as smoothly, and I just don’t feel as calm and prepared. I also recommend being really honest with yourself when reflecting. No one is going to read your words (unless you want them to) so don’t hold back.

Weekly reflections help me pause and recalibrate. They also help me learn from my experiences, so I don’t repeat the same mistakes. If you haven’t tried it, set aside 15 minutes and start small with a few simple questions. If you need some encouragement from someone who has been a longtime skeptic of this practice, please reach out to me.



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