How To Do a Yearly Review?

As another year comes to a close, it's natural to feel a mix of excitement and reflection. The past 365 days have been filled with challenges, changes, and moments of growth. Now is the perfect time to pause, take stock, and learn from the experiences that have shaped us. In this article, we will explore the importance of reflection, delve into the lessons learned, and set intentions for the upcoming year.

Why Reflection Matters

Regular reflection is an essential element of personal growth and intentional living. It allows us to evaluate how far we've come, what we've accomplished, and what worked or didn't work. Reflection is like collecting the data points of our lives, providing us with valuable insights and learnings. As the saying goes, hindsight is 20/20, and through reflection, we gain clarity, make better decisions, and understand ourselves and others better.

However, it's important to note that reflection is not about dwelling on the past or wallowing in regret. It's about using our experiences as stepping stones for growth and improvement. We can't change what has already happened, but we can learn from it and apply those lessons to create a better future.

The Power of Annual Reflection

While reflection can be done daily, an annual reflection allows us to take a high-level summary of the past year. It helps us see the rhythms and patterns of our lives and identify the top and bottom 5%. By examining these extremes, we gain insights that form the basis for innovation and change.

To conduct an effective annual reflection, we need to collect information from various sources. These sources could include our calendars, daily reflections or journals, social media updates, chat apps, photos, goals, and strategic plans. By reviewing these sources month by month, we can jog our memories and gather data points for reflection.

Four Phases of Annual Reflection

An annual reflection can be broken down into four phases: preparing, evaluating what matters, learning from the reflections, and setting goals for the new year.

Phase 1: Preparing

Preparing for effective yearly reflections can feel daunting, as it involves reviewing an entire year and identifying areas for improvement. To make this process more manageable, here are some preparatory tips:

• Schedule a dedicated reflection time. Instead of tackling it all at once, allocate around an hour or even just 30 minutes each day when you're most energized, typically in the morning.
• Create the right environment for focus. Select a conducive space for self-reflection, whether it's your bed, outdoors in nature, sitting comfortably, discussing it with a friend, or at your desk. Some find techniques like the Pomodoro method or playing background music helpful for concentration.
• Maintain simplicity and avoid judgment. It's common during reflection to become disheartened or fixated on perceived shortcomings. For instance, being too hard on yourself means recognizing areas that need improvement. Remember, it's better to uncover these aspects than to avoid self-reflection altogether.
• Utilize prompts or questions for self-reflection. Starting with well-crafted questions or prompts resolves the uncertainty of how to reflect and prevents biased or ineffective reflections. Below, you'll find quality questions sourced from credible research.
• To begin, create a blank document and list the months from January to December. Choose a few information sources that resonate with you and start back in January, jotting down notable events or happenings under each month's heading. This process will help refresh your memory and provide a chronological framework for reflection.

• (Optional) Use a pen and paper for reflection. There's a personal and tactile element to reflecting with a pen and paper. I recommend journal keepers begin their reflections in their journals and build on them gradually. However, if you prefer digital devices for focus, that works too.

With the groundwork laid, the reflection process will consist of two parts: an overview of the broader picture and a more detailed review of various aspects of life.

Phase 2: Evaluating What Matters

Reflecting on the past year involves dissecting various facets of our experiences. It's about exploring achievements, moments, emotions, interactions, character, behaviors, challenges, mistakes, and more. Let's delve into these elements to gain insights into the profound impact and valuable lessons learned throughout the year.

Here are some questions for reflection on the year:

1. Achievements: Reflect on your successes this year. What accomplishments stand out to you, and what actions contributed to achieving them? What accomplishments from last year bring you the most joy and satisfaction?
2. Moments: Consider impactful events that altered your life or routine. What were the most joyful, saddest, energizing, hopeful, and enlightening moments you experienced?
3. Experiences: Describe the experiences and adventures you had this year. What did they teach you? What valuable lessons have you gained throughout this year?
4. Emotions: Recall emotional moments encompassing joy, sorrow, courage, fear, fun, and boredom. Reflect on the reasons behind these emotions. What was the most surprising event or realization you encountered during the year? Describe an act of kindness or service that held significant meaning for you.
5. Interactions: Call back memorable interactions with others. Who were these interactions with, how did they occur, and what made them stand out? Did you meet new people? Who were the three individuals that had the most profound impact on your life in the past year?
6. Character: Assess your character this year. Were you kind, generous, assertive, negative, judgmental, or selfish? Explore the reasons behind these characteristics and what you aspire for in your character.
7. Conduct: Reflect on your behaviors at work, with family and friends, and in personal time. Are you proud of these behaviors?
8. Challenges: Identify the challenges you encountered and how you handled them. How did others cope with similar challenges?
9. Mistakes: Reflect on the mistakes you made this year and the lessons learned from them. Reflect on the risks you ventured into during the past year.
10. Stimuli: What auditory, literary, visual, olfactory, and gustatory experiences influenced your thoughts? This could include books, music, films, conversations, or sensory experiences.
11. Advocacy: Think of times when you spoke up for yourself or someone else. Conversely, when did you refrain from speaking up, and what influenced your silence?
12. Habits: Consider the habits you adopted and discarded this year. How did these changes impact your life and emotions?
13. Regrets: Do you have any regrets from this year? Are there any pending or unresolved matters from the past year that you need to address?
14. Opportunities: Reflect on opportunities that arose in your life. Did you seize or overlook them?
15. Preferences: What would you have wanted more or less of in your experiences this year? What remaining actions or expressions do you need to undertake to conclude this year satisfactorily? If you were to summarize your experience of the year in one word or phrase, what would it be? Consider whether this phrase is free from personal biases.

"The only real mistake is the one from which we learn nothing." - Henry Ford

Phase 3: Learning from Reflections

Now that you have evaluated what matters, it's time to extract the lessons and learnings. Identify any common threads or themes that emerge from your reflections. Determine what you want to continue doing, what you want to change or stop doing, and what new actions or habits you want to start. Consider the people you want to spend more time with and those you want to spend less time with. Use these insights to guide your personal growth and development.

"We do not learn from experience... we learn from reflecting on experience." - John Dewey

Phase 4: Setting Goals for the New Year

With your reflections and learnings in mind, it's time to set goals for the new year. For each learning you identified, set a specific goal and outline the steps required to achieve it. Remember, setting small, manageable goals is essential for progress and success. Commit to taking action and make a plan to ensure you stay on track.

*Note: Stay tuned for our upcoming post on how to effectively set goals for the new year!

Reflect with Compassion

Throughout the reflection process, it's crucial to approach yourself with compassion. Every year brings its ups and downs, successes, and challenges. Acknowledge that you did the best you could with the information and resources available to you at the time. Celebrate your wins, no matter how small, and honor the resilience and growth that came from navigating a remarkable and transformative year.

As you reflect on 2023, recognize the paths you forged and the changes you embraced. Use your reflections to gain perspective, set meaningful goals, and chart a course for the year ahead. Remember, the future is in your hands, and by applying the lessons learned, you can live with intention and make the most out of the opportunities that come your way.

What to Read

1. "The Power of Now: A Guide to Spiritual Enlightenment" by Eckhart Tolle Link to the book
2. "Atomic Habits: An Easy & Proven Way to Build Good Habits & Break Bad Ones" by James Clear Link to the book
3. "The Art of Possibility: Transforming Professional and Personal Life" by Rosamund Stone Zander and Benjamin Zander Link to the book
4. "Mindset: The New Psychology of Success" by Carol S. Dweck Link to the book
5. "The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People: Powerful Lessons in Personal Change" by Stephen R. Covey Link to the book

In Conclusion

Reflection is a powerful tool for personal growth and intentional living. By taking the time to evaluate our experiences, learn from them, and set goals for the future, we can navigate the complexities of life with clarity and purpose. Embrace the lessons of the past, celebrate your growth, and step into the new year with intention and determination. Here's to a year of growth, resilience, and endless possibilities.