Reframing Productivity Series Part II: The Power of Reflection
Many of us know that reflection is impactful, but few of us actually put it into practice. Taking 5 minutes a day to apply the Rose & Stem Method can greatly improve performance and productivity.
In the hustle of leadership, productivity is often defined by the volume of “things” we can cram into any given day. And to get it all done, we try time blocking, delegating, minimizing distractions—anything to increase our efficiency. But there's one approach that’s often overlooked: reflecting back on what you’ve already accomplished.
In today’s hustle-driven world, being busy is glorified. We’re constantly told to grind toward the next thing, hustle, and multitask, as if our performance is directly tied to how packed our schedules are. But here’s the irony: the busiest leaders are rarely the most productive.
The strongest leaders know this. They know that taking a few minutes to pause and look back on the day dramatically improves how you approach the next one.
So why don’t more people do it?
The data shoes that many skip this step because they believe that time spent reflecting is unproductive, or they just flat out don’t understand what it is.
According to HBR, two key reasons leaders don’t take time for self reflection are:
Not knowing how or what they’re supposed be reflecting on
The feeling of being unproductive while doing it (most leaders thrive in fast paced environments and feeling like they’re actively “doing something”).
But there’s a clear reason we should pay attention: it pays off in improved performance. A recent Harvard Business School study found that employees who spent just 15 minutes reflecting at the end of the day performed 23% better than those who didn’t.
So, how do you fit reflection into an already jam-packed day? Consider this twist on a simple dinner table practice you may be familiar with that puts reflection into action in less than 5 minutes a day.
Enter the “Rose & Stem” Method
If you’re a parent, you may be familiar with the daily “Rose and Thorn”, a dinner table tactic to get your kids to tell you more about how their day was other than “good” and “we played.”
The activity is simple and goes like this: every family member goes around the table and shares what their “Rose” of the day was (something good, positive or exciting that happened), and then also share a “Thorn” (something negative that happened).
We practice this in our household, but with one caveat: we add a “Stem” into the mix (based upon the suggestion of my creative 6 year old daughter). Our family defines a “Stem” as a hard thing you overcame that day. It can be a struggle, situation that was difficult to accept, or a mistake that you learned from.
I’ve recently started applying a similar “Rose & Stem” method to my workdays for the past few weeks, and it’s been incredibly impactful. (Notice I didn’t mention the “Thorn” in this circumstance. Reason being, leaders don’t need to dwell on the negative parts of the day. In fact, research shows that roughly 80% of leaders actively engage in regular negative self talk. So let’s avoid that negativity altogether for this exercise, shall we?)
To put this into practice, here’s a step-by-step format:
Pick an Accountability Buddy. This can be a colleague, friend, or spouse. In a work context, this person for me is a fellow entrepreneur friend. It started with a simple text: “I’m trying to be better about reflecting on my accomplishments and learnings each day as a means of being more productive. Would you be willing to hold me accountable to that and join me?”
Decide on a communication format and time of day. Will this be shared via text at the end of the work day, Slack, Voxer, audio message or phone call after putting the kids to bed? Make sure it’s consistent and easy to stick with based upon your life commitments.
Share a Rose & Stem in this format at the end of every day:
Rose: Something you feel good about accomplishing or completing that day
Stem: A situation you learned from. Be sure to be specific about what the actual learning was!
Here’s an example of what that looked like for me, yesterday:
Rose: Selecting my topic to write about this week
Stem: Starting an article, getting 75% of the way completed only to decide on scrapping the whole thing and start over in a new direction. I needed to get that thought out of my system to realize it isn’t the most impactful topic for my audience.
If you’re a sales leader, maybe it could look like:
Rose: Completing my forecast and getting it submitted before 2 pm
Stem: Discovering that we were completely off base with our proposal for XYZ deal, and need to start from scratch. Fortunately we didn’t go into the call with the C-suite presenting something that was completely unaligned with their expectations.
Don’t be surprised if coming up with a daily “Stem” is difficult. Learning itself is hard, and reflecting back on what you’ve learned can take honesty and vulnerability. In the words of Winston Churchill, “I am always ready to learn, although I do not always like being taught.”
Despite its challenges, practicing this method regularly will spark a shift in your way of thinking and create a habit of learning, accomplishment and growth mindset.
By adjusting your focus through this simple practice, you’re giving yourself permission to appreciate wins and learn from setbacks. Not only does this boost productivity, it also gives you back a sense of control. Like the old adage says: “What gets measured gets managed.” When you take time to reflect on what you have accomplished, you begin to manage the overwhelming feeling of being chronically behind.
