First of all we have to accept that there's restlessness. We try to use a mental note of the state of mind. If we don't like this state of mind, then we will feed it. So, first note that there's restlessness. This is noting the hindrances. Try to be objective with what is happening in the mind. Then there may be a capacity to work with it in a skillful way, rather than think there should be another experience.
First is acceptance, acceptance of what is there. Note it, learn to be objective with it, realizing that this is the practice, that it's not just to get rid of the thoughts to get a calm and peaceful mind, but to actually note the hindrances. After we've examined the unsatisfactoriness of it in ourselves, and brought some Compassion to ourselves, we can use a reflection to help transform the wrong view which may be creating the restlessness.
We're not going to use the reflection to "shoot it down," that may be just another type of aversion. We first have to come to acceptance, objective awareness, and then we try to change the view in a skillful way, rather than through non-acceptance.
We've given short types of reflections that can help to transform the view at that time. If you have a lot restlessness because of future thoughts, future planning, then by reflecting on death, you may be able to let go of the restlessness. Sometimes if there's restlessness going to the past, coming perhaps from self-judgment, we may have to do to a bit of a D/D there. The type of reflection needed depends on where the restlessness is manifesting, if we can recognize it.
Sometimes we can't recognize it, so the practice is just to have patience at that time, and work with the results of our Kamma. These thoughts have been sown by the causes in the past, and we have to have patience with receiving the ripples. I use the following analogy to help with this:
Suppose there's lots of waves coming towards you. What happens if you put your hands up to try to push the waves away? You just make more ripples. So it's just a matter of letting the waves come and go, and come and go. Gradually, the less you're putting up hands and pushing the waves away, the more likely it is that the waves will start to subside, and settle down. However, the more you push against the waves, then you only create more ripples and the more likely it is that they keep on coming and coming.