At the end of every year, it's often hard to grasp everything that has happened in the last 365 days. Taking a moment to reflect on how you spent the past year can do real wonders.
Personally, I've been doing a yearly review for the past 4 years. Recently I went through all my notes and summarised the methods that have helped me the most so far.
This article and the downloadable workbook are designed to help you reflect on the past year and prepare for the year ahead.
Why an annual review is important
“We do not learn from experience. We learn from reflecting on experience.”
Celebrate successes and review your journey
Celebrate successes and review direction
Without regular reflection, we go from year to year without celebrating our successes, learning from our failures and checking if what we are doing in life is really what we want deep within.
Our brain is designed to focus more on the negative than the positive. In psychology, this phenomenon is known as negativity bias. From the perspective of evolution, the focus on the negative was necessary for survival. Which is today to the detriment of our successes, as we pay far too little attention to them.
Even when we achieve our goals, we forget our successes as quickly as they came and reach out for the next. The hedonistic treadmill describes the human tendency to quickly return to a relatively stable level of satisfaction despite positive or negative changes in life.
A year in review allows you to recognize and celebrate successes - the big ones as well as the small ones. The ones you consciously strived for and the ones you never expected. You'll be surprised at what you discover when you take the time to look.
Identify opportunities for growth
Sometimes we avoid looking more closely because we are afraid of what we might find. The uncomfortable feeling of having wasted time leads us to either remain in regret, or to block out the past while we set ambitious goals for the new year full of expectation. None of these impulses give us the opportunity for honest self-reflection and personal growth.
If, on the other hand, you sit down and review your life from an objective observer's perspective, you have the opportunity to recognize patterns and get to the bottom of their causes. You can learn from your successes and mistakes and shape the coming year accordingly.
Set better goals
Looking at your old year will also help you set more realistic goals. I am convinced that human beings are capable of extraordinary things, but I speak from experience when I say that we usually set goals that are too big rather than too small.
“Most people overestimate what they can do in one year and underestimate what they can do in ten years” Bill Gates
If you read 5 books last year, 10 to 15 books in the new year would certainly be ambitious, but also within the realm of possibility. But setting yourself the target of 52 books would be very unrealistic.
A year in review helps us to set resolutions that we can actually achieve by taking an ambitious yet realistic approach to goal setting.
What you need
2x3 hours of uninterrupted time
You should plan enough time where you can work undisturbed. For me, two blocks of 3 hours each on two consecutive days works well.
Calendar and/or journal from last year
Your memory is good, documentation is better. Use anything that helps you remember what happened. Like a calendar, diary or your photo gallery on your smartphone.
Printed or digital version of the workbook
A reflection exercise like this requires concentration without any distractions. Print out the booklet or close all unused programmes on your computer.
Honesty and openness
As already mentioned, it is not always easy to look into the past. It is therefore all the more important that you show yourself the honesty and openness that you deserve. The more open you are with yourself, the greater your benefit. Pour yourself a hot drink and put on some relaxing music.
Optional: Group of people to work with
An accountability partner can be very helpful. Personally, I do the annual review together with my partner. This has the advantage that we can share our thoughts and reflect on each other.
Part 1: Annual review
Collect everything that happened
Looking back is about closing the chapter of the last year. You can start by going through your photos, journal entries, emails or calendar. The goal is to collect everything you did and experienced last year.
This is what my past year was about
In the next step, you divide your life into different areas. The following areas are merely suggestions. Adjust them as necessary.
- Family, friends, community
- Love relationship
- Hobbies, creativity, relaxation, travel
- Objects
- Career, studies
- Finances
- Personal development (intellectual, spiritual, emotional)
- Health, fitness
- A better future
- Bucket list
What aspect was the most significant to you in the following areas during last year? Which happenings or events were the most significant? Write down your answers.
Six sentences about my past year
- The wisest decision I made...
- The biggest lesson I learned...
- The biggest risk I took...
- The biggest surprise of the year...
- The most important thing I did for others...
- The biggest thing I completed...
Six questions about my past year
- What are you most proud of?
- Who are the three people who influenced you the most? How?
- Who are the three people you influenced the most? How?
- What were you not able to accomplish? What did you learn from that?
- What is the best thing you have discovered/learned about yourself?
- What are you most grateful for?
Six more questions about my past year
- What new skills did you learn?
- In what way(s) did you grow emotionally / spiritually / physically?
- What was your biggest fuckup? What lesson(s) do you draw from that?
- What was your single biggest time waster / most adverse habit?
- What was the best book(s) you read this year? Why?
- What did you get absolutely clear on this year?
The best moments
Describe the most beautiful and unforgettable moments of the past year. How did you feel? Who was with you? What did you do? What memories, feelings and other details can you remember? Describe why it was so special.
Three of my biggest accomplishments
- List your three greatest accomplishments from last year here.
- What did you do to achieve these?
- Who helped you achieve these successes? How?
Three of my biggest challenges
- List your three biggest challenges from last year here.
- Who or what helped you overcome these challenges? How?
- What have you learned about yourself by overcoming these challenges?
Forgiveness
Did something happen last year that still needs to be forgiven? Actions or words that made you feel guilty? Or are you angry with yourself? Do yourself some good by forgiving yourself for anything unspoken. If you don’t feel ready to forgive yet, jot it down anyway. It can work wonders.
The past year in three words
Choose three words to define your past year.
The book of my past year
Someone made a book about your past year. Write down its title.
Part 2: The year ahead
Life-audit
Now that you've looked back at the year, it’s time to look at where you are now, in this moment. The goal is to see what’s going well and what might need attention. To do a life audit, rate each of the areas from 1 to 10 in terms of how fulfilled you feel in each of them right now (1 = completely unfulfilled and 10 = completely fulfilled and where you would like to be in 12 months time.
Long list of aspirations and goals
What do you notice when you look at the life audit? Which area of your life needs most
attention? Write down all the things you want to accomplish, contribute and become next year. Not every area needs to be addressed.
- Family, Friends, Community
- Love relationship
- Hobbies, creativity, relaxation, travel
- Objects
- Career, studies
- Finances
- Personal development (intellectual, spiritual, emotional)
- Health, fitness
- A better future
- Bucket list
Short list: The top 5
Looking at the long list, what are the 5 most important things that, if achieved, would make the next year a big win? For each of these goals, define a definition of done and the underlying motivation for why you want to achieve them in the first place.
Important: All other goals on the long list become the "avoid at all costs" list until you reach the top 5. No matter what, you will not pay attention to these things until you are successful with your top 5. Only then can you choose and tackle the next 5 goals on the long list.
The guiding principle for this approach is focus. The other goals might be significant to you, but the reality is that they distract you from the things that are even more important to you, your top 5. The method comes from none other than Warren Buffet himself.
Chart the path
Now that you’ve defined the castle in the air, it’s time to put the foundations underneath them. Break your goals down into actionable steps and, or things which need to be learned to achieve them.
Magical triplets for the year ahead
- I will love these three things about myself.
- I am ready to let go of these three things.
- I will reward my successes with these three things.
- These three people will be my pillars during rough times.
- I will dare to discover these three things.
- I will have the power to say no to these three things.
Six sentences about my past year
- This year I will not procrastinate any more over...
- This year I will draw the most energy from...
- This year, I will be bravest when...
- This year I will say yes when...
- This year I advise myself to...
- This year will be special for me because...
My word for the year ahead
Pick a word to symbolise and set an intention for the year ahead. You can look at this word if
you need some extra energy, so you remember not to give up on what you want to achieve.
Secret wish
Unleash your mind. What is your secret wish for the next year?
Done
You are now done with planning your year
Goals are important, but the real progress can only be found in everyday actions. Be courageous and make small steps regularly, and you'll be surprised at what is going to happen.
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