Week 5: Challenge Activity - Reflective Domains & SMART goals

Following on from our week of reflection, we have been asked to look back over our past blog posts and to apply the reflective theory that we have learnt and apply it to our existing content.

A really useful model for structuring hollistic reflection is to consider five Reflective Domains:

Dispositional Domain - Motivation, time management, behaviour and discipline

Affective Domain - Feelings, experiences, emotional awareness and self-assessment 

Interpersonal Domain - Verbal communication skills (assertiveness, negotiating and problem-solving)

Cognitive Domain - Weaknesses and strengths, approach to learning, and goals

Procedural Domain - Assessing existing skills and understanding where improvements are needed

After looking back over my previous journal entries, I recognise that as the course has progressed, I have increasingly used more of the Reflective Domains. This was by no means intentional, and in some regards having some personal issues has allowed me to be more honest and vulnerable. This journal forms part of my Masters Programme and so it isn’t easy to openly admit when I am struggling, or behind. It would be much easier to simply catch up and pretend that all is fine. However in the real world, external forces and events do distract us and upset the workflow. It is far more useful for me to be open about the last few weeks - to analyse, reflect and learn my experiences so far.

My earliest posts take the basic structure of the task at hand and the procedures I went through to complete the task, with very little in the way of critical reflection. I also recognise that whilst there is now more balance of the reflective domains, I can use these to further to enrich my future posts and to enhance my learning and development. I also see that I don’t often set myself goals for the week (though the goal for the past few weeks has somewhat been just to not get too far behind - so this is understandable). In the coming weeks I want to get into the routine of setting myself weekly learning goals.

SMART goals

The final part of this weeks challenge activity is to examine SMART goals, to understand the value of this method when formulating a plan and to set my own goals for the coming weeks/months.

SMART goals are an effective a method of analysis and evaluation. They allow us to recognise where problems may arise in our work, and set out ways in which we can overcome them in the future. They are defined as:

Specific - The goal should be specific enough that there is no ambiguity. To ensure this we can consider answering What, When, Where, Who, Why and How.

Measurable - Progress tracking through measurable evidence. Ask yourself How Much? or How Many? when establishing goals.

Achievable - Create attainable goals within the time frame.

Relevant - Ensure goals are both relevant to my own aspirations as well as aligning with the aims and objectives of the team/course. It is important to consider if it is the right time to achieve this goal, am I the best person for this goal, or will I or the team need this goal in the future.

Time - bound - Set a realistic time for completion. Setting time-constraints can encourage focus and motivation.

My current SMART goals are:

1: I will improve my time management in order to improve my workflow. I will achieve this by using Kandan boards to visualise my weekly tasks, as well as setting aside two hours every evening to focus on my studies.

2: I will improve my knowledge of Adobe XD and Figma by carrying out beginners courses and tutorials on LinkedIn and YouTube. This will improve my confidence as a new UX designer and will make me more beneficial for any future team work. I will achieve this by setting aside two hours every Saturday morning purely for learning and development in technical areas.

3: I will do more reading on the weekly subjects. This will improve my knowledge and confidence in weekly study pods and make me a greater asset for future team work. It will also enrich my journal entries and allow me to reference more. I will set aside 3 hours on a Sunday Morning to read.