#004: Year-in-Review - How to do an annual Self-Reflection
Welcome to your Year-In-Review, an annual exercise to help you reflect on the year that was.
You may find completing this exercise highlights the areas where you have grown, what seeds need watering and how you might spend your time in the new year.
This guide is broken into 8 parts:
📹 Video Guide
#1: WASH OUT WRITING
(10 mins)
What:
Get a blank page, set a timer for 10 mins and start writing. About your year, what’s top of mind, really anything. Don’t think too much; let the pen glide word by word. Just write for 10 mins straight.
Why:
This exercise helps “clear the cobwebs” and wash out all the things jumbled in your mind. Also helps get into the flow of writing.
Don’t skip this step.
#2: WHAT AM I GRATEFUL FOR THIS YEAR?
(10 mins)
What:
Write down 12-36 things you are grateful for this year.
Why:
Starting with gratitude reorients your mind towards acknowledging the positives.
Need ideas? Go through your photo gallery for the year to get gratitude prompts
#3: WHAT GAVE ME ENERGY THIS YEAR?
(5 mins)
What:
Write down what gave your energy this year.
Activities
Projects
People
Places
Why:
Bringing awareness to your energy drains will help your prioritize less time of these next year
#4: WHAT DRAINED MY ENERGY THIS YEAR?
(5 mins)
What:
Write down things that drained your energy this year.
Activities
Projects
People
Places
Why:
Brining awareness to your energy drains will hep your prioritize less time of these next year
#5: HITS & MISSES
What:
What were the big misses this year?
What were the biggest hits this year?
Why:
According to Sahil Bloom: “Your natural bias skews how you see your year—the optimist sees all hits and the pessimist sees all misses. The objective here is a balanced view.”
Write them all down. Reflect on why the hits hit and the misses missed.
#6: FEAR SETTING
(10 mins)
What:
Write it out in as much detail as possible:
What am I most afraid of right now?
What are the major risks for me / What are things that could go wrong?
What’s the worst that can happen in each of these situations?
Why:
Fear setting (h/t to Tim Ferris) is an exercise that focuses on writing our your biggest fears in great detail. Write out what is the worst thing that can happen. By writing it out, you move your fear from your subconscious mind to your conscious mind. Once in your conscious mind, you will get a more realistic understanding of this fear, and help overcome irrationality.
Bonus Question:
What did I not do because of fear this year?
#7: KEY LEARNING
What:
Answer this question:
What do I know now that I didn’t know at the start of the year?
What did I learn new this year?
Why:
It can be easy to skip over the how we’re grown over the year. Zoom out and gain perspective. Look at the other responses above to help with the answers
#8: BUCKETS OF LIFE REVIEW
(15 mins)
What:
On a scale of 1-5 (1 being the worst its ever been, and 5 being exceptional), how are you doing on:
Health
Family
Mood / Energy
Hobbies / Leisure
Friends / Social Life
Relationship
Business / Work
Money
Connectedness / Spirituality
[Add Bucket]
[Add Bucket]
Write out 2-3 bullet points for each explaining your score
Why:
Reviewing your different “buckets” helps your zoom out and look at different aspects of a fulfilling life. Not all are equal in priority and not all will require attention at all times.
There you have it, your annual review is now complete. Hopefully, you answered these 8 questions.
What’s on my mind right now?
What am I grateful for this year?
What gave me energy this year?
What drained my energy this year?
What were my biggest hits and misses?
What am I afraid of? What did I not do because of fear?
What did I learn this year?
How are my buckets of life doing?
Doing this exercise every year (or even more frequently) may change your life.
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