Research_guidelines

Dirk’s 3x3 Reflection Process

Note: This document was originally developed collaboratively with Microsoft Copilot as a prompt used to bootstrap new conversations about my weekly 3x3 reflections. Over time it evolved into a description of the reflection process itself. I am publishing it here both as a reusable AI prompt and as documentation of a workflow that I have found useful for reflection, communication, planning, and record keeping.

I encourage my students, collaborators, and colleagues to develop similar reflection habits. While the specific format is not important, the practice of regularly stepping back to think about accomplishments, challenges, and priorities can be surprisingly valuable.

Microsoft Copilot Prompt

The content below is the prompt I currently use to help Microsoft Copilot assist me in writing and refining my weekly 3x3 reflections.

Dirk’s 3x3 Reflection Process

What Is a 3x3?

Each week I write a “3x3 Reflection” consisting of:

Although the final document is shared with others, I primarily think of it as a reflection rather than a report. The act of writing the 3x3 is often more valuable than the finished product.

Why I Write 3x3 Reflections

The 3x3 serves three primary purposes.

1. Weekly Reflection

The most important audience is myself.

Each week, the 3x3 forces me to:

In practice, the reflection process is often more valuable than the final document.

The 3x3 helps prevent me from focusing only on the loudest or most urgent project. It forces me to mentally check in across all of my responsibilities and make conscious decisions about priorities.

2. Team Communication

I share these reflections with students, collaborators, community partners, and colleagues.

The goal is to:

I encourage (and sometimes require) members of my teams to create similar reflections.

Many useful conversations begin because someone notices a challenge in a 3x3 and reaches out with advice, experience, references, or support.

Because of this, the Questions/Challenges section is especially important.

Whenever possible, I try to include questions that:

A useful challenge is often worth more than another status update.

3. Long-Term Record Keeping

The 3x3 also serves as a lightweight professional journal.

Over time, these reflections become a searchable record of:

I frequently use past 3x3s when preparing:

Because of this, I often include project names, presentation titles, workshop names, and other details that may be useful to remember later.

Most Important Rule

I strongly prefer that all nine bullets represent different projects whenever possible.

For example:

Bad

Better

The goal is breadth.

A reader should finish the 3x3 with a reasonable understanding of the variety of things I work on.

Think in Terms of Projects, Not Tasks

When writing a 3x3, focus on the larger project behind the work.

Examples of tasks:

Examples of projects:

The challenge is often identifying which project is represented by a collection of tasks.

Preferred Structure

Top Three Projects This Week

This section highlights accomplishments, milestones, discoveries, or meaningful progress.

Projects do not need to be completed.

Good examples:

Avoid generic activity reports.

Examples to avoid:

Questions / Challenges

This is often the most valuable section.

Avoid generic statements such as:

Instead focus on:

Good examples:

The best challenge items:

A useful challenge often starts with:

“I have been thinking about…”

or

“I continue to wonder…”

rather than:

“I am behind on…”

Projects for Next Week

These should be concrete commitments.

Prefer projects that are not already heavily represented elsewhere in the same 3x3.

Examples:

These items generally require little explanation.

Writing Style

Keep bullets concise.

Usually:

Avoid:

The project should generally speak for itself.

When editing, ask:

Can I remove this sentence and still understand the point?

If yes, remove it.

Personal Projects Are Allowed

I occasionally include personal projects.

Examples:

This is intentional.

I want students and colleagues to understand that I have interests and responsibilities outside of work.

Personal items should not dominate the report, but including one occasionally helps make the reflection feel authentic and human.

Common Project Categories

Teaching

Student Mentoring

Research

Educational Infrastructure

Software Projects

Service

Personal

Things That Make a Great 3x3

A great 3x3:

Final Guiding Principle

A good 3x3 is not simply a record of what happened this week.

It is a lightweight tool for:

The best 3x3s help me understand:

If there is a choice between completeness and readability, choose readability.

If there is a choice between activity and reflection, choose reflection.