How was this year for you? One that you want to forget or was it a game changer? Or maybe it was just a bit blah.
Whatever you experienced in 2021 it’s important not to forget about it too soon.
With the celebrations of New Year’s Eve and everyone focussed on the future, it can be easier to just mentally delete the year and move on. But everything that you experienced, both good and bad, should not be forgotten if you are to be successful going forward into the new year.
Remember, the best predictor of future performance is past performance! Meaning that you are most likely going to perform in the same way again, over and over, unless you check yourself.
If you ignore or forget your experiences without reviewing and evaluating them, you could end up making the same mistakes or forgetting what has made your success happen. So by reviewing the year that has just passed, you have a better chance of breaking the cycle and making sure you are more successful in the future.
In this episode, I'm sharing my step-by-step method to review my year, clear out the clutter and create a strong foundation to build my new year plans on.
This is essential to complete before you even start considering your resolutions and goals for the new year, so if you are looking to make big changes in 2022, then this episode is for you!
Are you ready? Then hit play above!
Links in this episode
Marie Kondo - The Life Changing Magic Of Tidying Up
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Don’t worry, I have you covered...here are some of the key points!
When we get to this point, just before the celebrations of new year it can be tempting to start looking forward to all you are going to start in January and accomplish in the year ahead, to forget about all that has passed in this year and move forward into what you hope will be the best year yet!
However, if you don’t take a pause, some time to consider the year that has just passed, good and bad and sometimes ugly, you may end up making the same mistakes again or forget what helped you achieve your goals in the first place. Looking back on your year and thinking about all you have learnt and accomplished is just as important as goal setting and planning for the new year.
If you want to go into the new year with clarity and confidence, which I know you all do, then taking time to review your experiences in the year that has just passed, is essential.
Before I start thinking about new year’s resolutions or planning my goals and plans for the upcoming year, a tradition for me is to schedule time for my year in review. I like to do this before New Year’s day, but you can decide to book it in for early in the new year. It’s important to do this separately to any goal setting or decisions on resolutions. If you decide to do both at the same time you naturally will find yourself being drawn forward to think about what is to come, to your future plans, because sometimes it can be uncomfortable to think about past mistakes and things you would rather put behind you. So schedule separate times for your year in review and your new year planning.
I book in a full day for my year in review session. I know that sounds a lot, but reviewing a whole year in depth can take some time! If you can’t take that long then find half a day at least. It’s important you have a block of time to yourself to do this. If you can’t get this at home then go to a quiet place like a library or out of the way coffee shop. Some people I know actually go to a hotel to do their year review and new year planning!
So, book in a time that works for you, find a spot that is comfortable, and where you can have headspace and you can think. You will need to have a new notebook and pen, your calendar to hand and any journals you have written in during the year (if you are into journaling) and photos you have taken. Whatever you have that will help you remember the projects and tasks you have done, events you have gone to, courses you may have done, places you have been.
Step 1 - Identify and collate your key experiences
The first step is to pull together everything you have done in the year, things that have happened and places you have been, or as much as you are able to remember. Open a blank page of your notebook and jot down whatever comes to mind. This is about your whole life, not just work. It’s easier to go through the different categories of your life in turn. Start with your job or business, then move onto your friends and relationships, then onto your health, followed by your finances and then anything else that does not fit those buckets. Use your journals, calendars and photos to jog your memory. You are not considering what was a success, what you have achieved or what did not go so well, just things that have taken place throughout the year.
You can also look at your habits here. So, which have been beneficial and which have been not so great or have turned into bad habits which are stopping you from achieving your goals.
Step 2 - Review Your Experiences
The next step is to consider everything you have just brain dumped about your year and ask yourself two key questions. The first is… What has worked well?
On another blank page, write down what you would consider achievements or successes? What are the good relationships in your life? Are there projects that worked out well, or trips you went on that were a great success. What are you proud of from the year?
The second question is… What has not worked well? You can really go for it here as I’m sure you were itching to put down all your perceived failures as we all find it easier to find fault then to appreciate our achievements. Turn over to another blank page and write down everything you feel has not gone so well, whether that be in your job, health, wellbeing, relationships or finances or anything else. Put it all down, no matter how big or small.
Step 3 - Learn from your past experiences
Step 3 is to look at what has worked well and not so well and ask yourself why. This step is all about learning from your experiences, both good and bad. To make it simpler, pick out your top three to five achievements and the same for what you perceive as your failures.
For your achievements, think about why they were a success, could you have achieved even more with more effort, or time? Were you lucky or did those achievements happen due to a lot of work, or maybe a bit of both. Were those achievements related to your goals or ad hoc opportunities that came up during the year. What challenges (if any) did you have to overcome to make them happen?
For things that were not so successful, ask yourself, what challenges did you face? Were those challenges in your control or out of your control? Did you do all you could to make them a success? What can you learn about yourself or the circumstances that you can take forward as a lesson?
Ideally find 3-5 lessons you can learn from your experiences. It’s important that you include lessons from your successes as even if you have been successful in something, it's important to understand why you were, so you can replicate again in the future.
Step 4 - Decide what to keep and what to release
The next step is inspired by the decluttering guru, Mari kondo. If you have read her book ‘ The life- changing magic of tidying up’ you will know she has the hugely successful KonMari method which helps you to de-clutter your home, thereby opening yourself up to a transformation in your life. Just like Mari encourages you to select what to keep and what to discard in order to tidy your home, I recommend you do the same for other aspects of your life like your career and relationships, health and finances.
So the next step is deciding what to keep in your life and what is best to let go of.
Look at your achievements, the things that did not work out and the stuff you are proud of and all that you learnt from those experiences, and work out what you will take forward into next year,and what you will get rid of or not attempt again.
You need to decide if you will stick at something because either it has worked well, or because you are not ready to give up and will try some new methods, or decide to give up on it and move on. This will really help you when you start planning and goal setting, but also it allows you to clear out anything that has not been serving you, or has not worked whatever you do so you can make room for new plans and ideas for the year ahead. You can also think about what habits will you take forward and which will you aim to stop in the new year.
Releasing things that do not serve you or as Mari Kondo says ‘do not spark joy’ is very important as it frees up space for things that do bring happiness. I would add that you should release things that do not bring fulfillment or meaning or have a purpose.
Things like guilt or disappointment about things that have gone wrong.
Or a Limiting mindset that is holding you back from doing what you really want to do in life.
Step 5 - Celebrate!
The final step is to celebrate. It’s so important to acknowledge your achievements, no matter how small or big and what you have learned over the past year. You are no longer the person you were back on the 1st January 2021, through your experiences you have evolved and developed your knowledge and skills.
So before you start to throw yourself into the new year and cheer its arrival, take a moment to celebrate the one you are leaving behind with all its successes and challenges, ups and downs and curve balls. So forgive your mistakes, be proud of your successes, and raise a glass of champagne to salute 2021.
The bottom line is..Whatever you have achieved or not achieved this year, you have lived and are living and have the opportunity and potential to achieve so much more! Leave behind what no longer serves you, and bring forward what you have learnt, and the people and things that are a positive and valuable influence in your life, into the new year. They will form the foundation of your goals and plans for a fulfilling, happy and successful 2022.
That’s it for this episode, and remember, everyone deserves to live their passion, so get started this is your time!
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