Often, the hardest part of the work we all do is the lack of time we spend on reflection. We rarely take the time to ruminate. We create to-do lists, but we sometimes neglect to set goals. We take even less time to consider the essence of what we do. And yet, we are shortchanging ourselves if we don’t allot some non-interrupted, non-multitasking, purely us and our partners time for reflection accompanied by future planning.

What should we do when we reflect?

There are lots of things you can do when you reflect. You can consider how your office is functioning, how you communicate with your colleagues and with your clients. You can think about what you would most like to change or fix, if there were no obstacles, like lack of time or money or imperfect staffing. You can set some measurable, achievable goals.

But, there is one aspect of reflection that is critical in terms of marketing what you do. We all must constantly ask ourselves, who are we, what is our essence…or even to identify our brand, what makes what we do, or who we are, uniquely “us”.

Here are some questions to guide you in that reflective work:

• Why should someone do business with you?
• How are you different from other people who offer similar services that you do?
• Do you think that your clients or patients could explain what is special about you and your business?
• Do you think that strangers or visitors to your office, your store, or your website would be able to quickly understand what is unique and valuable about you?

Even at K2M, we admit that we don’t always carve enough reflection time in our days, and even in our weeks. But, when we do, we find that our work improves. When we remind ourselves what our core values are as a marketing firm (fair and transparent prices, quality product, knowing the needs of our clients, understanding our clients’ stories), we make better choices about time management and project direction and the content of our marketing is improved.

This time of year is often an incredibly busy time. Let’s not lose our way, thereby getting off track, because we forgot to consider our paths.