Reflection in Action: Learning While Doing
My Personal Approach
Starting a project often feels like stepping into the unknown, as I explored in my previous post, "Beyond the Blank Page." While the first step is crucial, there’s a vital skill that sustains progress and ensures success: reflection in action. This concept, coined by Donald Schön, revolves around the ability to assess and adapt while actively engaging in a task. It’s a powerful tool that transforms uncertainty into clarity and action into learning.
What Is Reflection in Action?
Imagine you’re mid-project, and something unexpected happens. Maybe the initial plan doesn’t work, or a new idea sparks mid-process. Reflection in action is the ability to pause, assess, and pivot—without losing momentum. It’s about thinking on your feet and being both a creator and a critic in real time.
Unlike reflection on action, which happens retrospectively, reflection in action happens in the moment. It’s dynamic, iterative, and deeply tied to the process of doing.
Why Reflection in Action Matter
For creatives, designers, and professionals alike, the path from idea to execution is rarely linear. Challenges arise, feedback changes direction, and new insights emerge. Reflection in action empowers us to:
Adapt to the Unexpected:
Real-time adjustments allow projects to evolve in response to challenges or new discoveries.
Real-time adjustments allow projects to evolve in response to challenges or new discoveries.
Embrace Iteration:
The best ideas often come from refining and reworking during the process.
The best ideas often come from refining and reworking during the process.
Balance Creativity and Logic:
It helps you stay creative while ensuring decisions remain grounded in practical outcomes.
It helps you stay creative while ensuring decisions remain grounded in practical outcomes.
Learn by Doing:
Reflection in action transforms the project itself into a learning experience, sharpening your skills as you go.
Reflection in action transforms the project itself into a learning experience, sharpening your skills as you go.
How Reflection in Action Shapes My Project
As someone who often struggles with overthinking, I’ve found that reflection in action is a game-changer. It allows me to move forward even when I don’t have all the answers at the start. For instance, in my design work, I often begin with rough sketches or incomplete ideas. Instead of waiting for everything to feel "perfect", I dive in and refine as I go.
Recently, while working on a creative brief, I realized midway that my original layout wasn’t working. Instead of scrapping everything, I stepped back and asked myself: What’s not working, and how can I fix it? That moment of reflection led to a new approach that not only solved the problem but also improved the overall design. Reflection in action gave me the flexibility to adapt without losing progress.
How to Practice Reflection in Action
Developing this skill takes practice, but here are some steps that can help:
Stay Present:
Be mindful of what’s happening as you work. Pay attention to what feels right and what feels off.
Be mindful of what’s happening as you work. Pay attention to what feels right and what feels off.
Ask Questions:
Pause occasionally to evaluate your progress. Questions like, What’s working? What’s not? can guide your next steps.
Pause occasionally to evaluate your progress. Questions like, What’s working? What’s not? can guide your next steps.
Experiment Freely:
Don’t be afraid to try something new mid-process. The freedom to experiment is essential to discovery.
Don’t be afraid to try something new mid-process. The freedom to experiment is essential to discovery.
Trust Your Instincts:
Reflection in action often draws on intuition. Trust your experience and gut feelings when making adjustments.
Reflection in action often draws on intuition. Trust your experience and gut feelings when making adjustments.
Document the Process:
Keep a record of your decisions and why you made them. This helps with future reflection and growth.
Keep a record of your decisions and why you made them. This helps with future reflection and growth.
From Blank Page to Dynamic Progress
Reflection in action is about more than just fixing mistakes—it’s about embracing the journey of creation. It allows us to navigate uncertainty, learn through doing, and transform challenges into opportunities. As I continue to explore my creative process, this practice has become an essential part of my toolkit.
The next time you find yourself stuck, remember: you don’t need to have all the answers before you start. Dive in, reflect, adapt, and grow. The magic happens in the doing.
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