Bullet Journal Reflections: Retrospective Template

I’ve found it difficult to conduct reflection because I just didn’t know where to begin – or even end. In fact, the only thing I do during my monthly bullet journal reflections is read my daily logs. This should be fine because I’m “reflecting” on what I had done in the past. The thing is, that’s it. I read and move on to the next month.

This template or structure is modeled after a “sprint retrospective” which is typically used in tech industries. A sprint is (typically) a two-week long period to work on a number of tasks. At the end of every “sprint”, a team conducts a sprint retrospective to reflect and find areas for improvement.

I work in tech and do this quite often. It allows us to foster collaboration and find ways to improve ourselves as a team. We don’t hop on this meeting and pinpoint flaws of each team member or blame someone for not completing their work. We use this time to learn and apply learnings to the next sprint.

In general, there are three main questions we answer during a sprint retrospective – what went well, what needs improvement, and what are the action steps? Some structure it as “start, stop, continue” or “mad, sad, glad” – it really depends on the team.

Applying this to journaling

Ryder Carroll does talk about reflections in The Bullet Journal Method but I feel that the key focus was on AM/PM reflections. Monthly reflections point towards the act of Migration.

Your daily logs would be the best point of reference. Review your entries in the last month and reflect. The format doesn’t matter. You can write paragraphs worth or even in bullet points. All that matters is that you write it down.

What went well

This section is straightforward. List down what what made you happy and what worked out great for you.

What has gone well for you in the last month? What are you most proud of? Declare your small wins. Write whatever you feel made you happy.

• Launched a new app
• Drank 8 glasses of water everyday
• Bought a new Apple Watch
• Earned $1000 from selling old things

What needs improvement

This is also where you write down what went wrong. Or if nothing really went wrong, what do you think you could have done better?

This section isn’t a way of beating yourself up; think of it as constructive criticism. Side note: We do the same with our team retrospective meetings – we don’t bring each other down but we look for improvement areas.

In the past month, what did not go as planned? Did you miss a due date? Did you spend more money than you should have? Maybe you did something that you didn’t particularly like.

• Paid extra fees because I forgot to pay credit card on time
• Exercised only twice in 1 month
• Car broke down
• Lost power because of the hurricane

“What can I do to improve”

After identifying what hasn’t worked out for you, always figure out if next steps. What is your action plan to improve on yourself. Always remember that while you are not perfect, you are perfectible.

Using the example above, think of corresponding actions.

If you forgot to pay your credit card on time, start setting a calendar reminder for next month.

If you exercised only twice and your target is 4, maybe you can ask a friend if they can check up on you every weekend to motivate you.

There are things that you don’t really have control of like your car breaking down or maybe the weather. With things that are out of our control, we can always think of ways to be better prepared for these things.

Let’s say for the hurricane example, best to start preparing an emergency kit.

The Retrospective format is another way to get you started or perhaps motivated to check up on yourself and your progress. Conducting this exercise will make you more self-aware and more intentional about your way of living.

The output of your monthly retrospective may also be used as a guide when planning out the next month.