reflection

Leo, over on ZenHabits, talks about the habit of reflection. Below are some of the ideas he suggests.

How to Make Reflection a Daily Habit
If reflection isn’t something you feel you do enough, consider making it a habit. Here are some suggestions for doing that:

1. Start a one-sentence journal. I picked up this trick from my friend Gretchen Rubin of The Happiness Project … basically, it’s the easy way to start the journaling habit. If you’ve tried and failed at journaling in the past, try the one-sentence journal. It’s a habit that you’ll love, especially when you look back on a year’s worth of entries.

2. Focus on doing it at the same time, every day. No exceptions. Even if you don’t start a one-sentence journal, get into the reflection habit by taking just a few minutes at the end of every day to reflect on your day. Journaling helps crystalize those reflections. Either way, whether you write it down or not, make reflection a daily habit. Write down your goal: what you’ll do, when you’ll do it, and where. Then focus on doing it every single day, same time, same place, no exceptions whatsoever. If you have a trigger (such as, “right after I brush my teeth”), this will help establish the habit. Otherwise, sign up for an online service that sends you a daily reminder at the same time each day.

3. Exercise. One of my favorite times to reflect (other than at the end of the day or while driving) is during one of my runs. I like to take that time to think about my life, and my work. Some of my best post ideas come during runs. If you don’t run or have some other form of daily exercise, consider just taking a walk and using that time for reflection. Make a daily appointment and don’t miss it!

4. Think about your day, your work, your life. In that order. I like to take a look back on my day, to think about what I did right and wrong, what could be improved. Then I take a look at my work, to see how things are going there. Then I step even further back and take a look at my life as a whole. It’s a three-step system that leads to a lot of improvement over time.

5. Write about it publicly. If you post your reflections on a blog, or a forum you belong to, or just on a LiveJournal account viewable to friends … you’re holding yourself accountable to a group of people. Your reflections are shared with others, and once people start to read them and expect them, you’ll feel that positive public pressure to keep it up. That’s what has happened with this blog, and it’s been a great thing for me.

Have you reflected on the past year yet? What are some of the highlights for you? How do you use reflection in your daily life? Let us know in the comments or continue the discussion in the Zen Habits forums.