You don’t have to do much reading around ‘reflective practice’ to realise that the term is used in a variety of ways, and that it means it different things to different people. It is often used as a part of professional development and training for educators and health professionals, so there are also many models and formats for reflective practice which can be used in different contexts, purposes and circumstances.
I should like it to resemble some deep old desk… Virginia Woolfe on her ideal diary
In her book Lucy, our Principal Investigator, suggests that although educators are well versed and adept in using reflective practice to reflect on their professional lives, this is not always the case for their emotions and wellbeing. But if it’s a skill educators have that can be used effectively – why not use it to support our emotional selves as well as our professional selves? Those working in education are often time-poor and devote the lion’s share of their time to prioritising others. Keeping a diary reflectively helps put the diary keeper at the centre of the story- reminding them that they are important and deserving of care and attention themselves!
The Diary Toolkit’s approach to reflective practice is one that makes it work for the Diary -Keeper, through a variety of activities, processes and ‘outcomes’, rather than a prescribed format for reflection. This is achieved through the creative and bespoke nature of the Diary Toolkits which we wrote about last month.
Painting is just another way of keeping a diary. ~ Pablo Picasso
In Teaching and Learning through Reflective Practice: A Practical Guide for Positive Action Tony Ghaye says “(r)eflective practice is an 
exploratory, purposeful, creative pursuit for better knowledge and understanding.” (Ghaye 2011 p 20) and goes on to say that reflective practice is “a way of being”. The Diary Toolkit can become an artifact of this reflective practice and a “space for you to consider what each part needs to flourish and thrive” (Kelly 2023 p40). The Diary Toolkit offers written, image based, digital and object-based activities which allows diary-keepers to reflect in a way which they feel will most help them to thrive.
It’s a way of taking stock, almost meditative, trying to make sense of stuff because life is chaotic. ~ Richard E. Grant on keeping a diary
The Diary Toolkit offers a range of ‘transition’ activities that help diary-keepers slow down and move into a reflective mindset- this is often hard to do after a full day of juggling and to-do lists. Reflection can be a form of rest and recouperation. Being able to reflect in this way has given participants in the Reimagining the Diary project “space for your own wellbeing and emotions” and enabled them to realise “how much I give to my career and how little I give to myself” (Phase 7 participant responses).
Before I went to bed, I sat up till 2 a-clock in my chamber, reading… ~ Samuel Pepys
In phases 5 and 6 participants chose to keep their diary entries as part of the final ‘reflect’ stage of the Diary Toolkit – but this isn’t for everyone – nor should you feel diaries have to be there for posterity (remember we’re not all Samuel Pepys!) There’s no pressure to make a perfect diary entry, no pressure to keep it or share it with anyone. Of course, you might want to use your diary in this way! The diary you keep is for you to do with as you wish! Again, as Lucy says in her book, reflection is “ongoing and active. It’s a lived practice, that develops and evolves alongside the person using it” (Kelly 2023 p 10).
Mirror, mirror on the wall… ~ The wicked stepmother
In this modern-day digital age, aren’t we representing ourselves and reflecting on our experiences all the time? Social media can be seen as a 
type of reflection, but one which encourages us to show the positives, (which can be good – celebration can help combat negativity bias) but also leads many of us to down play the negatives (which can be bad, not just for us but for other people who may begin to feel alone in the face of the relentlessly brilliant lives of others on Instagram!) – with this mind it’s really important to have a “space to reflect on the not so shiny elements of your day.” (kelly2023 p32).
Sometimes your diary is the perfect listener. ~ Amy Leigh Mercree,
The data from phase 7 of the project suggested that participants spent more time reflecting on their working day than their non-working life; however as one phase 8 participant put it “It was not really about the education just because school is most of my day and creates most of the emotions”. This reminds us of the benefits of Diary-keeping for drawing a line under our working day and promoting a more sustainable work/life balance through downloading our day and reducing cognitive overload. Similarly, reflective practice through the diary can make abstract reflection concrete making them “easier to deal with” (Kelly 2023 p39).
If you’d like to get involved in the Diary Project and develop these ideas and practices for your own wellbeing, please get in touch with us. Email Pen Williams, one of our research assistants, at PW17644@bristol.ac.uk or find us on twitter @diarytoolkit where we share thoughts, information and love to hear your ideas!
— The Diary Toolkit – Wellbeing for Educators (@diarytoolkit) May 30, 2023