The useful mistake review: a ten minute exercise
Most of us review our mistakes the way we review a parking fine: briefly, bitterly, and then we file it somewhere dark. Here is a better way. It takes ten minutes, a pen and a willingness to be curious rather than cross.
Why bother reviewing a mistake at all?
A mistake you never look at tends to come back wearing a different hat. A mistake you look at properly becomes a lesson you only pay for once. The trick is to review the event, not to put yourself on trial.
Step 1: What actually happened? (3 minutes)
Write down the facts only, as if you were a slightly bored witness. Times, actions, words said. Leave out words like stupid, disastrous or typical me. Those are verdicts, and we are not at the verdict stage.
Step 2: What did it teach you? (4 minutes)
- What did I assume that turned out not to be true?
- What was I missing: information, time, help or sleep?
- What was the earliest moment I could have noticed?
The third question is often the goldmine. Most mistakes send a warning text before they arrive.
Step 3: What changes next? (3 minutes)
Choose one change small enough to actually happen. Not “be more organised”, which is a mood rather than a plan. Something like “check the address the night before” or “ask one clarifying question before saying yes”.
A quick example
You miss a deadline because you said yes to a new task at four o'clock on a Friday. The facts: you said yes without looking at your calendar, and Monday was already full. The lesson: you assumed there would be time, and the earliest signal was that you never checked. The change: every new request gets “let me check and come back to you within the hour”.
Make it a habit
Once a week, pick one small mistake and run the review. Small ones are perfect practice, because the stakes are low and the patterns are the same as the big ones.
Mistakes are expensive tuition. You may as well attend the lesson. If you enjoy this way of thinking, there is a whole field devoted to it at Mistakeology.
Try it with other people
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