14 December, 2021

Purposeful Reflection… What did You Learn? | Video


Deliberate practice and purposeful reflection. These are the two most valuable tools for developing your skills. Purposeful Reflection helps you figure out what you have learned.

Focus on the things that happened, and understanding why some things worked and some did not.

This video is safe for viewing in the workplace.

This is learning, so, sit back and enjoy

Wisdom and Purposeful Reflection

Wisdom is hard to define. And, it’s harder still to acquire. When  I wrote a book about how to become wise, called Smart to Wise’, I learned something when I was researching it. The people whom others regard as wise do one thing systematically. They reflect on their experiences and try to understand them.

These are the people whom others look to for pointers to difficult decisions, for advice, and inspiration. Wouldn’t you want to be seen as wise one day?

Get Wisdom

If you do, start a practice of purposeful reflection. Spend time thinking about what has happened and how it came about. 

  • What decisions did you make? 
  • How did you make them?
  • How did they turn out?
  • What events made a difference?
  • How did they influence things?
  • What indications were there, before they happened?

It’s the end of the year: Purposeful reflection time

It’s the end of the year soon. You may have done your goal-setting for next year. Or you may be planning to do it soon. Perhaps you don’t plan to do it (but that would be a mistake).

Equally important – and maybe more important – it’s time to reflect on the last year.

Set aside a good hour so you can do some quality thinking. Look back over the last year. Think about the events, big and small. The choices you made. How things worked out. And what can you learn from them.

Above all, it’s the purposeful reflection that matters. 

It matters far less whether you make lots of notes or none. Even whether you draw profound conclusions or feeble insights. Trust that, if you direct your attention, your mind will find something golden amongst the rubble.

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What Kit does a Project Manager Need?

I asked Project Managers in a couple of forums what material things you need to have, to do your job as a Project Manager. They responded magnificently. I compiled their answers into a Kit list. I added my own. 

Check out the Kit a Project Manager needs

Note that the links are affiliated.

Learn Still More

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If you want basic Management Courses – free training hosted on YouTube, with 2 new management lessons a week, check out our sister channel, Management Courses.

For more of our Project Management videos in themed collections, join our Free Academy of Project Management.

For more of our videos in themed collections, join our Free Academy of Project Management

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Mike Clayton

About the Author...

Dr Mike Clayton is one of the most successful and in-demand project management trainers in the UK. He is author of 14 best-selling books, including four about project management. He is also a prolific blogger and contributor to ProjectManager.com and Project, the journal of the Association for Project Management. Between 1990 and 2002, Mike was a successful project manager, leading large project teams and delivering complex projects. In 2016, Mike launched OnlinePMCourses.
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