Do you reflect enough?
I don’t but I’m trying to make it a regular thing
Do you ever take a moment at the end of the day, week, or month to reflect on what’s gone well?
Do you ever pause to celebrate your wins, however big or small?
I’ve never done this. I’ve always moved from one thing to the next, believing that a fast pace was exactly what I needed to get things done.
When I was younger, I could cope with the relentless nature of working like this. But, these days, it’s becoming exhausting. Life is passing so quickly, the days and months blurring so much that often I struggle to remember what day it is, let alone what I’ve done.
Ask me what I had for my dinner last night, and it’ll take me a few minutes, my brain cogs frantically turning, before I remember. Ask me what I did last weekend or three weeks ago, and I’ll look at you blankly before admitting that I haven’t a clue.
It’s frightening to think that my life is happening, and I’m so focused on the future, that I don’t take time to consolidate my memories.
What would happen if I paused, just for a short time, to remember the fun things, recognise the achievements, and maybe even celebrate the wins?
It would certainly be easier to differentiate one day from the next. It might improve my memory and my mood.
On Wednesday evening, keen to give it a go, I sat down with a hot chocolate and thought about last month. What did I do? What made me laugh? What brought me joy?
Blank.
I couldn’t remember.
There was the holiday. But what else…
I grabbed my diary to see what I’d done and when. Reading it made me smile because my life is never without drama.
I had a lovely night at the theatre with Chris, watching The Kite Runner at The Lyceum in Sheffield. Most of the roads out of town were closed for roadworks, so we got stranded in Sheffield afterwards. But eventually, we made it home.
We enjoyed a lovely, relaxing holiday in Cyprus. The journey was interesting. We almost missed the outbound flight after losing track of time in the bookshop at Manchester Airport. We’re used to running for flights, so it was fine. Once on board and taxiing to the runway, one of our fellow passengers had a funny turn, and we had to return to the gate, where we remained for several hours. We made it to Cyprus eventually.
During the holiday, we celebrated our seventh wedding anniversary, enjoying a romantic meal, while other people’s children ran riot. I particularly liked the toddler who devoured one slice of cake, then sprinted to the dessert counter and demanded, ‘MORE CAKE!’. Then she went to the bathroom and her brother informed everyone that she’d ‘done a weewee’. Entertainment at its finest.
I spent a wonderful day with my sister and friends, celebrating my sister’s hen party. We had afternoon tea in a local pub and then danced for hours in a marquee in my sister’s garden. Mum dragged me off the dance floor at 10pm to drive her home, just as I was demonstrating my John Travolta ‘Greased Lightning’ moves.
We had a family gathering at my parent’s house to celebrate Father’s Day. Despite the rain, Dad was determined to get the barbecue on. After we’d eaten, he spotted a gap in the clouds, rushed outside, fired up the grill and cooked us a sausage each for dessert.
I treated myself to a relaxing Indian Head Massage while we were on holiday. It was greasy but utterly amazing.
After five years without much running, I took part in the Barnsley 10k, and was pleasantly surprised to finish sixth in my age group (25 to 30, obviously).
Work wise, I enjoyed a creative planning day in Birmingham with my colleagues, which also involved a delicious lunch at The Botanist and writing time. I love spending early mornings writing on the train. I’m so productive onboard, I’ve been wondering if I should just take more train journeys.
I held my first Make Your Writing Happen full-day session. A small but lovely group joined me online. One writer contacted me afterwards to say it was the most productive day of writing she’d had in a long while. It made my day!
I had an idea for a new book, a project that I am determined to get over the finish line. I’m aiming for a publication date in February 2025. Watch this space.
And, throughout the month, I wrote and published five Substack pieces:
My favourite reads so far this year
Late nights, early mornings—on staying up late in your forties
Getting holiday ready—on the nightmare of packing for a summer break
Have you ever wanted to run away from your life?
What a holiday taught me about writing—lessons learned after a much-needed break.
Taking time to reflect on the month reminded me of all the fun I’d had. I felt happy, positive about the work I had achieved, and, if nothing else, it cemented my memories firmly in my mind.
Now I’ve made a start with reflecting, I intend to make it a regular practice. Ask me about my month now, and I will definitely be able to tell you.
What did you do last month? I’d love to hear your reflections.
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That IS a good month--and even though you were feeling a bit overwhelmed at the time.
I do daily scribbles, often more preserving than reflecting, but it's a good outlet. I do make sure to stop between each book I read, and write my favourite quotes so that I'm taking it in a bit better.
I have two notebooks (actually I have many more but two for this purpose) one I use to reflect on what’s going on in my life as a way of understanding it. The other is to brain dump, to get words and thoughts, about happenings and events that are not helpful out of my head. It’s very therapeutic.