At the beginning of the year, you had plans that you may have written down, captured electronically or just had in your head. Now that we are getting closer to the end of the year, it is the perfect time to reflect on what happened over the year. It is a time to look at what was accomplished, the things that didn’t get accomplished and what you learned. Going through this exercise is one of the best things that you can do to learn and continue to grow. It takes some time to go through this process and really think about it. Give yourself the gift of time to spend on this review.
Start by writing down all of the things that you completed on your list. You will be really amazed at how much you accomplished. It gives you a great perspective and provides an opportunity to celebrate what you have done.
Looking at the list of what you didn’t accomplish can also be really helpful. What were some of the reasons that things didn’t get done? Did you lose focus? Were there some other priorities that were added to the list unexpectedly? That happens to everyone and that is why it is important to revisit your plans throughout the year.
Learning from the experiences that you went through can teach so many lessons. Asking yourself questions to learn both from success and failure are key to learning. Are there things that you will continue to do the same way or do you need to make adjustments? Could you have planned differently or included more resources? Did you push yourself to be outside of your comfort zone? Did you exceed your own expectations?
Set aside some time where you will be uninterrupted and capture all of your reflections. How can you take these learnings and apply them to your next set of goals? It is important to learn from your past experiences so you can make changes to set yourself up for success next year.