Channeling Dumbledore:The Art of Mental Housekeeping
Discover how reflective practices can clear mental clutter, foster growth, and transform the way you lead.
Like many others, I started a bread-baking habit in 2020, but unlike most, mine has stuck. Over the past four years, I’ve averaged making six loaves of honey wheat bread every week for my family and friends. Growing up, I loved eating fresh bread made by my grandma, and I always wanted to create that experience for my family. But for years, I struggled to make it happen.
I wanted the bread to be just right, with specific ingredients, and I wanted the process to be easy. It wasn’t until the pandemic gave me space to experiment and reflect that things began to click. I wrote my core recipe on an 8.5x11 piece of cardstock and used it every week. Each time I baked, I’d jot down notes, cross out measurements, and tweak ingredients. As soon as the bread cooled, I’d eagerly slice off a piece, slather it in butter and honey, and ask for feedback from my family.
My trusty bread recipe
A living document shaped by years of small, intentional reflections. It’s a reminder that even the simplest practices can evolve into something magical with time and care.
Fast forward to this morning: I made four loaves in about ten minutes without much thought. The process feels effortless now, but it’s the result of years of small, intentional reflections. This simple act of baking bread—and reflecting on how to make it better—has added so much joy to our lives.
This story might be about bread, but it raises bigger questions:
Do you have a process for intentional, thoughtful reflection?
A learning and reflection practice that helps you grow, adapt, and thrive?
Let’s explore how reflection can act as cognitive housekeeping, clearing mental clutter and helping us find clarity and growth in both our personal and professional lives.
Dumbledore as Our Mentor for Mental Housekeeping
Remember Dumbledore's pensieve in Harry Potter? That magical basin where he could deposit his swirling thoughts and memories, examining them from new angles with clarity? While we might not have magical devices, we do have something just as powerful: the practice of reflection.
When practiced regularly, reflection acts as our own version of a pensieve—a way to offload, organize, and examine our thoughts. Leticia Britos Cavagnaro, in Experiments in Reflection, draws this parallel, reminding us that like Dumbledore, we all need a way to externalize and explore our thinking. This process of "downloading" experiences clears mental clutter and creates space for learning, growth, and forward movement.
For leaders and teams, this practice becomes a way to clarify goals, improve communication, and build resilience.
Building Your Reflection Practice
The real power in reflection lies in creating a habit that sticks. A healthy reflection practice doesn’t just happen—it requires intentionality and light structure. Here’s how to create your own pensieve-like process:
Choose Your Moment
When will you reflect? At the end of the day? Week? After specific events like a project wrap-up or team meeting?
Consistency is key. Build reflection into your existing rhythms to make it a sustainable habit.
Select Your Medium
Decide how to capture your thoughts: a physical journal, digital notes app, sticky notes, or voice memos.
Choose what feels natural and accessible to you—there’s no “right” medium.
Use Guiding Prompts
Reflection isn’t something we’re all naturally wired to do. Prompts provide the light structure and intention needed to get started:
What surprised me today?
What’s one thing I learned, and how can I apply it?
What’s something I want to do differently next time?
Move to Action
Reflection is most powerful when it leads to change. Ask yourself:
What now?
What specific step will I take?
How will I implement this learning?
Why Practice Healthy Reflection?
Reflection is more than looking back—it’s about making sense of the past to inform the future. When done well, reflection helps individuals and teams:
Learn from experience: What worked? What didn’t? Why?
Foster accountability: What can we do better next time?
Strengthen resilience: What challenges did we overcome?
Encourage adaptability: How can we pivot based on what we’ve learned?
Deepen trust and connection: What needs acknowledgment?
The Pitfalls of Poor Reflection
Not all reflection is created equal. Without structure and intention, reflection can derail into:
Rumination: Getting stuck in unproductive (and unhealthy) “what if” loops.
Blame: Assigning fault instead of exploring lessons.
Avoidance: Skipping reflection altogether to avoid discomfort.
Disconnection: Focusing only on the past without applying insights forward.
Tools for Reflection
Reflection doesn’t have to be complicated. Here are a few tools to help you and your team reflect effectively:
What’s In My Control vs. Out of My Control: Draw two circles—one for what you can control and one for what you can’t. This exercise clarifies focus and reduces overwhelm.
Start, Stop, Continue: Identify actions to start, stop, or continue. This framework is especially powerful in team settings.
Retrospective Models for Teams: Use structured retrospectives like Glad, Sad, Mad (what emotions did the work spark?) or Sailboat (what’s propelling us forward, and what’s holding us back?).
Insight-to-Action Mapping: Write down a reflection insight and brainstorm three ways to act on it. Commit to one action step.
Reflection Guides for Deeper Learning
I am a junky for good guides on reflection. These change leaders have built practices and thoughtful actions to reflect and learn for forward movement:
Karen Walrond and The Lightmaker’s Manifesto—an inspiring call to align your life and work with what lights you up.
Adam Grant and Rethinking—a guide to staying curious and open to new perspectives.
Malcolm Gladwell and Revenge of the Tipping Point—a masterclass in revisiting and challenging your own work.
Ann Moris and her podcast Fixable—practical and insightful ways to approach challenges with curiosity rather than expertise.
Each of these voices reminds us that reflection isn’t about proving ourselves—it’s about improving ourselves.
Your Call to Action
Reflection isn’t about perfection—it’s about progress. Whether you’re starting with a five-minute journal entry or leading your team through a retrospective, the key is to begin—and to do so with curiosity and care.
Want to take reflection deeper? Let’s explore together. Reach out, share your experiences, or join a workshop to discover how to make reflection your secret weapon for growth and change.
