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How to meet your goals through reflection and planning

Whether in our personal lives or our work lives, it is good practice to set goals for ourselves which make it easier to align our actions and get to where we want to be. Oftentimes we can set a goal, and then lose track of our progress and the steps we need to take to achieve it.

One of the best ways to keep ourselves on track is through regular reflection and planning, either at the end of each day or week. Taking time for reflection has been proven to reduce stress, improve focus, and make us more productive.

Below is our advice on how best to reflect on your goals, plan the next steps, and how this can help you achieve your vision.

How to reflect and plan

Do you start each day trying to gather your thoughts, going through emails and lists to find priorities, and spending more time trying to sort tasks out than actually doing them? Then you should try reflecting and planning at the end of each day, so you are ready for the next!

●      Reflect at the end of each day - think about the day, what went well, what could be improved, what you achieved, and what challenges you faced.

●      Prepare for the next day by creating a to-do list, batching tasks together to organise priorities, and ensuring that key meetings or reminders are scheduled in your diary.

●      To get into the habit of reflection, use a tool such as a journal to help you keep track of your lists and make notes.

●      Scheduling time out of each day to reflect and plan for the next means you can stick to your goals and block out distractions.

●      Start small until you get into the habit so that you don’t become overwhelmed or unmotivated - try just five or ten minutes at a time and start with simple goals and plans before moving onto in depth reflection.

●      Set yourself a list of reflection questions to go through, such as what you feel you did well, what was a challenge, what would you change next time, what failed and why, and how you felt that day.

Daily reflection provides you with the information you need when looking back at the end of each week. You can see what tasks you achieved this week, what you struggled with, how much time things took you to complete, new goals you gained from meetings, and how you work best.

The benefits of reflecting and planning

●      Puts things into perspective. It helps us to see our achievements and failures in a wider context, giving us a clearer picture of what happened and the reasons behind it without the emotion of the moment.

●      Helps us to see the bigger picture and prioritise what matters to us. Looking back helps us to understand our journey and how this has led to our goals. We can check in to see whether our current to-do list aligns with our values and is helping us on the path we want to take. This can guide our priorities, our focus and give us new motivation.

●      Gives us new inspiration by reflecting on what we’ve done and how we could do it differently. We can think about new ways to solve problems or get past creative blocks by looking at the challenge in a new light.

●      Mindfulness, reflection and journaling have been proven to reduce stress, increase confidence, and restore work-life balance. According to Mindsera, more than 200 studies have shown that journaling enhances well-being, increases focus, and improves mental health. The founder of the Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) program, Jon Kabat-Zinn, reported that mindfulness significantly reduces stress. Stress levels were reduced by 35% and it was also reported that resilience was enhanced, allowing the experimental group to better recover from setbacks.

By taking even just five minutes out of your day, you can beset up better for the rest of the week as a more positive, productive and planned person!

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