Module 11 · Reflection & learning from experience · Lesson 4 of 7

Stop, start, continue

Three short lists that turn a review into changes you can make.

6 min read · Free — no account needed to read

The idea

Stop, start, continue is one of the simplest review tools there is. Look back over a period — a week, a month, a project — and write three short lists. What should I continue? What should I stop? What should I start?

Continue protects what is working. It is easy to overlook, and easy to drop good habits when life gets busy, simply because nobody noticed they were helping. Stop names what is draining time, energy or goodwill for little return. Start names one or two new things worth trying.

The lists should be short. One or two items each is plenty. A review that produces twenty changes rarely leads to any of them.

Why it matters

Reviews can easily become a long reflection with no change at the end. Stop, start, continue turns reflection directly into decisions you can act on this week.

See it happen

Obi reviews his first month in a new job. He feels generally stressed but cannot say why.

The first read

He decides he just needs to try harder and be more organised next month.

With this idea

He writes three lists. Continue: lunch with his team, a written to-do list each morning. Stop: answering emails after 9pm. Start: a weekly catch-up with his manager. The next month feels noticeably calmer.

What changed

A vague resolution became three specific changes.

Easy to get wrong

• Leaving the continue list empty. Knowing what works is as important as knowing what does not.
• Starting too many things at once. One new thing, done well, beats five that fizzle.

What this rests on

Practical wisdom. A widely used way of working. Useful to try — not a scientific law.

Try it: Three short lists

1. Look back over the last week or month.
2. Write one or two things to continue, one or two to stop, one or two to start.
3. Circle one item from each list to act on this week.

Reflect

• What is working that you might be about to drop without noticing?
• What would be the single most useful thing to stop?

Use it in the coming days

Add a stop, start, continue to your next review in My Reviews, and act on one item from each list this week.

Where to do it: My Reviews

My Reviews has Stop · Start · Continue prompts built in for exactly this.