By Lucy McCarthy, Operations Manager at Hive Business

We have bi-annual development reviews at Hive. Every member of the team has one, whether you’re a board member or junior member of staff there is always room to develop yourself.

At every review, we set targets for the next six months.I don’t mind sharing one of my development targets with you, it was: “to do regular written reflections”. At first, I thought it sounded a bit pointless and not my thing… my task list shows me what I’ve completed and what I’ve bumped and who has the time to keep a journal these days!? But Dan insisted it would be a helpful tool and to try it.

I struggled to make headway with it and I didn’t know where to start. Then, for my birthday, I was given the Mrs Hinch Activity Journal. An unlikely personal development tool that is currently the number 1 best seller on Amazon for Business, Finance and Law. I thought it would be perfect for making to-do lists at home so I was surprised to find that right at the front there is a section to set three goals for the year which you revisit throughout the book, you then complete weekly task lists and then a weekly reflection.

I’ve started it and have completed my first few weekly reflections and I am discovering how I work best and where I should focus my energy. Here are some questions you can start with to help you keep a written diary.

• What went well this week?
• What did you enjoy this week?
• What didn’t go well this week and why?
• What did you learn this week?
• What would you do differently this week?
• What are you looking forward to next week?

Write these questions in a notebook and fill it in each week. Give it a go, don’t overthink it and let me know what you discover.

If you want to find out more about how to improve or implement development plans in your team please get in touch.