I don’t think it will be a surprise when I confess that I’m a self-evaluator!
But the day that Dan Apple told me I had a choice about living this way and could choose self-assessment instead of self-judgment as a way of life – I was shocked that I could change this ingrained characteristic.
I’m not saying it’s easy – this has been a 6-year journey and I’m still on it. But I’m making progress! And lately, that progress is being advanced by practicing a daily wrap-up.
Off and on in my personal PE journey I’ve set aside time for daily assessment. I know I want to improve my performances and myself, and this is the PE practice for it.
But I’ve noticed that I only like to self-assess when things have gone well, when I’m happy, when I’m satisfied.
And that’s a sign of self-evaluation. Because when things haven’t gone well, the self-judger has too much power and is blocking my self-assessment mindset from having voice.
So what’s a Process Educator, a self-grower to do? Review the basics and transform strategies.
When we introduce assessment to learners, we often also discuss reflection. And we usually post critical thinking questions about when you should use each. These are the basics I’ve been coming back to.
When I’ve had a low day, I need to reflect. I need to explore what the low was, why it happened, why it’s activated my self-judgmental voice, and how I might be able to change.
I need to determine whether the self-judgmental voice is being unfair, release frustration, and forgive myself for all of that.
With all of that, I can usually make space for productive self-assessment. (Or not. Sometimes that’s enough at the end of the day!)
My current system for daily wrap-up incorporates more reflection than I ever have before. It includes elements support the best parts of self-evaluation and structures to help prevent its unfair tendencies.
It involves expectations, outcomes, reflection, and assessment.
Here are 4 key components:
0. Each morning as I preview the day, I record the planned outcomes for the day.
1. At wrap-up time, first I record my actual outcomes for the day.
2. Reflection Part 1: Validate the “high” for the day.
3. Reflection Part 2: Processing emotional lows.
4. Assessment: Do a quick SII with particular emphasis on developing the insight of the day.
Steps 0 and 1 help me to be fair. Sometimes the actual outcomes match the plan, sometimes they don’t. But I can see what I did each day. And when it’s written down, I can’t discount the accomplishments that didn’t match the plan.
Steps 2 and 3 are helping me analyze the outliers of the day. I want to understand what the high was, why it was the high, and see how it connects to my broad criteria or current focus for increasing my quality of life.
For the low I have three goals: 1) to shift my feelings from negative to neutral, 2) to manage my energy so that it’s not spent on unproductive emotions, and 3) to be self-honest about what happened and where I’m at. All of this helps me see the causes of the low so that I can see it coming in the future and be ready to redirect myself in the moment before my self-judgment gets activated.
Step 4, of course, is good old assessment. But by focusing on the most important takeaway from the day, I can expand improvement to future days and other contexts.
Thanks, Dan Apple, for helping me develop this strategy!
P.S. I’d love to hear about how you do a daily wrap-up! Or if you haven’t activated this practice but want to, about the obstacles you’re seeking to overcome. Share with me at president@processeducation.org!