I know what you’re thinking, “Ugh, there is yearly reflection, monthly reflection, and now I have to worry about weekly reflection questions too?”
Yeah, you should! Here’s why they matter more than any other type of reflection. (btw, there’s also a birthday reflection waiting for you here)
Marcus Aurelius said, “Look back over the past, with its changing empires that rose and fell, and you can foresee the future too.”
You and I run our empires daily – our lives with their challenges, opportunities we had and lost, those we took advantage of, and successes and failures. We rise and fall with every stage of life, and we can only foresee our next move by looking back.
The right type of end-of-the-week reflection isn’t listing the events from the previous seven days, but looking behind their reasoning, seeing if we missed an opportunity, if there is still something hidden there, waiting for us to uncover.
A free Printable Checklist with the questions is Included in this post, so stick around.
What does “weekly reflections” mean?
According to a paper by Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine, there are four components to proper reflection are:
- Look back;
- Think in depth;
- Learn about yourself;
- Plan your next steps.
Just as simple as it sounds, yet we rarely do it. I know I’m too often skipping over my reflection hours to admit here. But I also notice that if I’m smart enough to stick to a few weeks of reflection, I get new ideas streaming through my head hourly.
Look back
Looking back at the highlights of your week allows you to identify key moments, both positive and negative. You aren’t rushed to react; you observe and categorize each highlight, challenge, and decision made.
Think in depth
You rarely have time to sit and think over an event while the event is still undergoing. You are pressed to react according to its fast pace, and only once it is all over can you draw the line and see the “mess” or “bless” you’ve been part of.
Learn about yourself
Life’s lessons never come with a pink bow. It’s often dark blue or black – the one that feels like sandpaper in our hearts. But once we untie the bow and learn whatever we were meant to learn, we also open the gift with which that lesson came.
Everything that hurts us teaches us, changes us, ushers us to look at life differently, and prepares us for our next step.
Plan your next steps
The last part of reflecting on the past is planning ahead. As the metaphor we used with Marcus Aurelius’ quote, your empire needs your future decisions. Your life will look and feel as good as your reflection process.
So if you are ready to start your next week stronger, braver, and more determined than ever before, let’s see if you can learn something new from your last week through these weekly reflection questions below.
Weekly Reflection Questions
I’ve got 40 self-reflection questions separated into six different categories. You can click the sections below to skip to a specific area. You can also go ahead and grab the free weekly reflection printable by clicking here.
- Short weekly overview;
- Goals and priorities overview;
- Ideas, events, and lessons;
- Workweek reflection questions;
- Self-reflection questions;
- Prepare for next week.
Short weekly overview
- If I had to summarise the week into one word, that word would be…
- The most memorable moment of the week was…
- What was something I wasted my time on?
- What was something worth every minute of my time?
- Rating my week (out of 5 stars):
Goals and priorities
- What were my priorities at the beginning of the week?
- Were my actions throughout the week closely related to my priorities?
- If not – why not?
- Did I achieve my weekly goals?
- If not – why not?
Ideas, events, and lessons
- Did I learn any lessons?
- Did I have new ideas I wish to explore and/or work on in the future?
- What was the best idea I had this week?
- Any event I wish to remember?
- Do I have something new to plan for the next week/month/year?
Workweek reflection questions
- Did I do my best at work this week?
- What were some highlights of the week?
- Ideas to explore:
- Projects to work on for the next week:
- Something awesome that happened at work:
Self-reflection questions
- Did I honor my needs this week? How?
- What was something good that I did for someone else? (an act of kindness)
- What am I the most grateful for?
- What is something I am proud I did this week?
- What skill did I work on this week?
- Was I in any pain this week (physical, emotional)? What was the need hidden behind that pain?
- Was there a moment I wasn’t proud of myself throughout the week? Why?
- What are my top three life priorities?
- What is something I wish to remember from this week?
Prepare for next week
- Do I have a big event next week?
- Who has a birthday?
- What are my top three personal goals for the week?
- What are my top three work priorities for the week?
- What is the mindset I wish to carry on throughout the week?
- Self-care and self-nourishing activities I wish to fit into the week:
- Do I have an important talk or a meeting coming up?
- Any appointments that I must attend/make?
- What is something fun I should do next week?
- What would my weekly affirmation be?
Reflection Motivation Quotes
To finish this weekly reflection post, I would like to share some of the best gems that wise people gifted us with – their words of inspiration and reflection.
“Think of the life you have lived until now as over and, as a dead man, see what’s left as a bonus and live it according to Nature. Love the hand that fate deals you and play it as your own, for what could be more fitting?”, Marcus Aurelius
“We need to regularly stop and take stock; to sit down and determine within ourselves which things are worth valuing and which things are not; which risks are worth the cost and which are not. Even the most confusing or hurtful aspects of life can be made more tolerable by clear seeing and by choice”, Epictetus
“The way we experience the world around us is a direct reflection of the world within us.” Gabrielle Bernstein
“Sometimes, you have to look back in order to understand the things that lie ahead.”, Yvonne Woon
“Great leaders develop through a never-ending process of self-study, self-reflection, education, training, and experience.”, Tony Buon
“Don’t become too preoccupied with what is happening around you. Pay more attention to what is going on within you.” Mary-Frances Winters
“There is no greater journey than the one that you must take to discover all of the mysteries that lie within you”, Michelle Sandlin
“Self-awareness gives you the capacity to learn from your mistakes as well as your successes.” Lawrence Bossidy
“One cannot reflect in streaming water. Only those who know internal peace can give it to others.” Lao Tzu
“Life can only be understood backward, but it must be lived forwards.”, Soren Kierkegaard
Blogger, dreamer, procrastinator, and lover of everything soul-touching. My mission is to make you laugh, provoke your thoughts, light up your day and inspire you to fall in love with life and yourself.