Building Rhythms of Reflection
The start of another school year is upon us. For those working in education, you may find yourself participating in traditions or events that happen at the beginning of each school year. Maybe a convocation ceremony, staff retreat, or annual training that you’ve participated in before - perhaps many times. These annual rhythms associated with the start of a new school year naturally bring about opportunities for reflection.
Annual reflection is a big part of who I am. Thinking “this time last year…” just feels baked into my DNA. Maybe it’s because I led orientation programs for many years where I’d find myself in the same buildings or on the same lawn year after year reflecting on the slight differences (or major overhauls) from previous iterations of a traditional experience. I would also find myself remembering what had changed in my personal life since the last time I had been in that Coliseum and the students and staff who had helped craft that experience into what had become a cherished tradition.
My affinity for annual reflection could also be because I am nine years into 5-Year Journaling. (As someone who could NEVER journal consistently and who owns countless journals fully blank after the first three pages, I can’t believe this is true about me!) If you’ve never seen one, a 5-Year Journal is designed to record brief daily entries over the course of five years. Each page typically covers one calendar day, with sections for entries from different years, allowing for reflection as you see your entries from previous years and essentially creating a personal time capsule.
My appreciation for intentional reflection informs strategies I use with my coaching clients. I often ask clients questions to facilitate similar reflection and encourage my clients to take stock of where they’ve been as they determine where they’re headed. At the beginning of a school year, I often see a tendency for clients to focus on all the projects they didn’t accomplish over the summer or how daunting their goals are for the upcoming school year. These grown-up versions of back-to-school jitters are normal, but it’s important to find ways to recognize what we have achieved so we can remember what we’re capable of.
Here are two more of my favorite tips for building rhythms of reflection that I encourage my clients to utilize for themselves and with their teams:
Keep a “Done” list.
Or as one client calls it, a “To-Done List”! Out-of-sight, out-of-mind is real! Find a way to keep a list of big accomplishments visible as a reminder of the hard work that has led to meaningful results and a way to avoid solely focusing on what hasn’t been accomplished yet. We all need To-Do Lists, but there is power in remembering what’s been DONE!
Find time weekly to share “Anxieties” and “Wins” with your team.
As teams revisit this list each week they can quickly reflect on if they are still concerned about the same things they were last week (which can help the leader hone in on areas to offer assistance for persistent issues) or recognize the resolution to previous worries. Additionally, intentionally celebrating wins together as a team before shifting gears too quickly to the next challenge is important. Celebrating wins is a great way to end meetings so you wrap up on a high note!
Whether you’re journaling on your own, building rhythms of reflection into team meetings, or simply looking back when you find yourself in those “once-a-year” circumstances, when it comes to reflection the important thing is to figure out what works for you and your teams. As John Dewey said, “We do not learn from experience... we learn from reflecting on experience.”
If reflection doesn’t come easily to you, engage a colleague and give them permission to ask you some questions to get your reflective juices flowing, or visit tdotf.com/coaching to learn more about connecting with one of our Executive Coaches for support in reflecting on where you’ve been and optimizing your path forward.
