If you’re feeling a little discombobulated right now, and I wouldn’t blame you if you were, I have a simple writing exercise that will help you to cut through the noise and have you seeing things with clear eyes in super quick time.
It’s perfect when all the thoughts, ideas and problems are running in a never-ending loop round your head, and you just can’t find your way out. All you need is a pen and notebook or your laptop if that’s easier. Something fabulous happens when your hand moves across the page that doesn’t always happen when you tap and type on a keyboard, so give writing by hand a go, if you can.
These are the three headings we’ll be using:
- What?
- So what?
- Now what?
1. What?
Start by describing the situation or experience that’s on your mind. Don’t worry about the spelling or grammar, just let the words flow. You might find that your thoughts jump around, that’s ok – go with it. But if you are struggling to get going, try asking yourself these questions:
• What is the problem / difficulty / reason for feeling stuck / for feeling unhappy?
Paper and pen or laptop, it doesn’t matter. Just release those words until you’ve written down everything that’s on your mind.
2. So what?
Now look at what you’ve written and start to look at it critically. Analyse it. This is where you try to break down the situation so that you can make sense of it in order to understand it better.
• What does this teach me about me / other people / our relationship / my attitudes?
• What could I have done differently / What is my new understanding of the situation?
This is the point where you might experience a few lightbulb moments as you see situations from a fresh perspective.
3. Now what?
This part focuses on planning and action, putting what you’ve learned into action.
• What can you do to make things better / resolve the situation / feel better?
• What is the problem / difficulty / reason for feeling stuck / for feeling unhappy?
Paper and pen or laptop, it doesn’t matter. Just release those words until you’ve written down everything that’s on your mind.
A simple writing technique that works
It’s the simplicity of this particular reflective writing exercise that I love. The headings are easy to remember and give me a structure to follow that isn’t overly prescriptive. The headings are more of a prompt to guide me and help reframe my thoughts. And without fail it has stopped those thoughts running in a loop through my head. And it can be used for any situation – work, home, relationships, I think that’s its beauty.
What is reflective practice?
Reflective practice is an important part of medical and healthcare practice and put simply, is based on the idea of ‘thinking with purpose’. It’s how we learn through our experiences. I first learned about it when I trained as a postnatal facilitator with the NCT (National Childbirth Trust) and have found this particular writing exercise incredibly effective over the years. Based on Borton’s framework for reflective practice it was adapted to suit NCT teaching practice.
There is a huge amount of research behind reflective practice and writing. This blog and writing exercise are very much my simplified approach and it’s helped me hugely over the years which is why I wanted to share it with you.
Have a go and let me know how you get on.
Harriet