1. What repeats?
A place, a task you cannot finish, being chased, a house with a room in it. One recurring element is enough to work with.
2. What was the feeling on waking?
Before any interpretation. Dread, relief, grief, embarrassment, longing. Where is that feeling familiar in waking life?
3. Who showed up who should not have?
A stranger, someone dead, someone you have not thought about in years. What did they bring with them by being there?
4. What are you being shown that you already know?
Dreams rarely bring news. They tend to restate something you have declined to act on.