The end of every year brings with it the opportunity to set goals for the New Year.
It’s easy to get excited looking forward and skip a crucial step which makes the experience significantly more effective.
It’s been said that we do not learn from experience…we learn from reflecting on our experience.
A failure to reflect will lead to a failure to grow and evolve.
Before you begin setting your personal and professional goals for the upcoming year, I urge you to take roughly 60 minutes to answer the 9 questions in the Personal Annual Review.
I’ve been doing this exercise for the last 7 years or so and the questions I’ve included here have been influenced from several sources and my own experiences.
Additionally, I highly recommend taking pen to paper and writing your answers down. This is an instance where a note-taking app or laptop simply doesn’t measure up.
You may elect to set a 5 to 7 minute timer for each question to guide you through the exercise. To really spice things up, decide in advance that you will keep writing until the timer stops.
The Personal Annual Review will be an insightful exercise which will significantly impact your personal growth.
Ready to get started?
Here are the 9 questions of the Personal Annual Review:
What are the 3 best things that happened to me personally this year?
If you’ve recently experienced a personal loss, this can be a difficult question to answer.
What are the silver linings?
Reflect back over the entire year as you answer this question and begin this exercise to avoid a recency bias.
What are the 3 best things that happened to me professionally this year?
Yes you have to choose 3 and no you can’t reframe a negative like “I didn’t punch my co-workers.”
Think back over the projects and initiatives from the last year to find your answers.
What was your biggest miss this year?
Expand on this with WHY you chose this as your biggest miss for the year.
What did you learn this year?
What personal / professional development did you experience in the last year?
Are there any skills you developed? Courses you completed?
What did you change your mind on this year?
I love this question because it helps recognize the truth that everyone doesn’t get it all right the first time.
Having the ability to change your mind is a strength and not a weakness.
This can be personal, professional, or health and fitness related.
What are the activities / people / beliefs that gave me energy this year?
What sets your soul on fire and allows you to step into the best version of yourself?
Are there certain environments and groups that give you a spark?
What are the activities / people / beliefs that drained my energy this year?
Here’s the flip side to the previous question.
We’ve all encountered Energy Vampires that seem to suck the life right out of you.
Maybe 3 hours of meal prepping on a Sunday makes you want to put shrimp forks in your eyes.
Knowing what drains your energy will point you in the right direction.
What do I want to do MORE of in the coming year?
Consider this question both personally and professionally.
What activities spark your interest and make time fly by?
What do I want to do LESS of in the coming year?
Consider the flip side to the previous question both personally and professionally.
What activities would you like to avoid or reduce?
What activities seem to make time drag and extend the day?
Conclusion
I cannot recommend going through this exercise highly enough.
Taking the time to answer these questions is an investment in your own personal growth.
With the insights provided from the Personal Annual Review, you are better prepared to set your goals for the New Year.
