Reflective Practices and Living Intentionally with Dr. John Miles, PhD
Why do we do the things we do? And, more importantly, why do we keep doing them? Taking the time to reflect – to slow down, look back, and ask ourselves whether the path we’ve been on is the one we want to stay on – helps us be the person we truly want to be.
In this conversation with Dr. John Miles, a writing professor and academic assessment specialist (and my former boss), we talk about the importance of reflective practices to help us move from living on autopilot to living intentionally.
Since John and I are both trained in rhetoric and writing, we’re obviously big fans of writing shit down. So we focus specifically on the value of journaling as a reflective practice. And/but we also talk about:
Navigating distraction in the digital era
Celebration as a form of reflective practice
Recognizing that what we do is not who we are (but it’s a part!)
Reevaluating goals as we grow and evolve
Figuring out our strengths and limitations as a pathway to career satisfaction
Consciously using tools and practices instead of just doing them for the sake of it
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References, Resources, and Links
Note: book recommendations include affiliate links. If you buy a copy, I’ll get a tiny commission, and that would be super cool.
Wofford College – where I was as an Assistant Professor of English and the Director of Digital Pedagogy (best title of my career thus far!)
Reinhart University – where John is the current Provost and VP of Academic Affairs
Digital Minimalism by Cal Newport.
Sabbath: Finding Rest, Renewal, and Delight in Our Busy Lives by Wayne Muller.
Sherry Turkle – scholar focused on the impacts of technology. Reclaiming Conversation is one of her more famous books.
Kathleen Blake Yancey. Reflection In The Writing Classroom.
Ironman. The ultimate triathlon event in which participants swim 2.4 miles, then bike 114 miles, then run a full fucking marathon (26.2 miles). It’s bananas.
DiSC Analysis. Very business-oriented personality assessment.
Habit Tracker. An app I used to use for, well, tracking habits.
The Artist’s Way by Julia Cameron.
Thích Nhất Hạnh. Vietnamese monk and prolific author.