Most of us, if we're honest, work like this:

Act-->Act-->Act

We rush from task to task, often trying to multi-task in a vain attempt to be more productive, with barely room to breathe in our frantic days. 

The problem with this cycle, from a learning perspective, is that when we're constantly acting, we can't learn from our experiences. There's no space to ask what's working, what isn't and what can we do to improve?

We need to insert a pause, so that our days start to look like this:

Act-->Reflect-->Act

When we start with Reflection, followed by Action, we are acting with intentionality. We are engaging in action, not activity, because we are clear about what we hope to accomplish with our actions and, therefore, clearer about how to act. We are not acting for the sake of doing something. We are taking action to accomplish or achieve something. This is a subtle, but profound difference, a lesson we all need to absorb. 

To learn, we must insert reflection into the cycle. To change, we must begin with reflection.