Reflecting on 2022

It’s the first full week of December. The year is basically over, right? You just have to “survive” the next few weeks before you get some solid time away from the office….whether you commute 15 feet to your home office or 15 miles across town.

No matter how much we enjoy our jobs, taking time away from work is important for our mental health and to help us bring our best selves into the new year.

That said, the end of the year is a great time to:

• determine what can still be accomplished in the coming weeks
• reflect on the progress of the past year, and
• prepare for a strong and focused Q1.

In a recent article, I offered several suggestions to help you determine what you and your team can still get accomplished at the end of the year. Now let’s talk about a structured method to reflect on 2022.

For years, I’ve made a habit of taking time at the end of the year to reflect on the year I’ve just wrapped up. Back in 2014, I came across a great list of questions that I use each year to reflect on the year holistically. I love this list of questions, as you can use this list to reflect on your work life, personal life, or both.

I cannot take credit for this helpful list. Take a look at this link for the original blog article.

I’ve adapted the questions below and encourage you to schedule some quiet time to answer these questions for yourself:

• What are my fondest memories of 2022?
• What were the “big projects” I completed during the year?
• What were the defining moments during the last year?
• What did I procrastinate on and fail to get done?
• What books and mentors had the greatest impact on me? Why?
• Am I closer to my friends and family from my activities this year?
• What will be my biggest goals as I move forward into 2023?
• Where did I neglect to live up to the standards I set for myself?
• What am I committed to do this next year to help accomplish “my life’s work”?

Though the above list of questions aligns to the whole person (both personal and business), it can also be adapted for the workplace. If you’re a leader within your organization, you can use this same list to reflect on the year with your teams. The questions for your team members to ask themselves become:

• What are my fondest memories of 2022?
• What were the “big projects” I completed during the year?
• What were the defining moments during the last year?
• What did I procrastinate on and fail to get done?
• What books, training courses, and mentors had the greatest impact on me? Why?
• Am I closer to colleagues, leaders, and/or stakeholders due to my projects, activities, and interactions this year?
• What will be my biggest goals as I move forward into 2023? How do these align to my organization’s goals?
• Where did I neglect to live up to the core values or guiding principles of my organization?
• What am I committed to do next year?

And if nine questions just feels like too many questions to consider, you can use your reflection time to answer my favorite “lessons learned” questions I like to ask clients and project teams at the end of a project. These questions are good for year end personal and business reflection (though I HIGHLY recommend thinking through the longer list of nine):

• What went well?
• What didn’t go well?
• What are some top recommendations moving forward?

Do you have a regular practice of reflection at the end of the year? If so, I’d love to hear what questions you meditate on. Please share in the comments below.

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