It’s that time of year again when we are preparing for Christmas, looking forward to some time off and starting to plan for 2020. The new decade awaits!
As the year draws to a close, I find it really helpful to look back at the year just gone and take stock. It’s so easy to look forward and start planning without seeing what I can learn from the past 12 months.
The truth is there will be nuggets of wisdom in the past year that we can take with us into the year ahead. It can be so helpful to notice the highs and lows and to draw out the gifts of the past 12 months; or perhaps to recognise how challenging a year it has been and be kind to myself in the light of that.
Then I can go on to think ahead to 2020 and set intentions that will support me in the year to come.
Below are some questions I like to ask myself in my year-end review. This is based largely on David Allen’s Getting Things Done.
Set aside a good hour, make some coffee, open your journal and give yourself the luxury of time to reflect on these questions. Write down your answers so you can look back later next year and compare them to what has actually happened.
Thinking about 2019:
What am I most grateful for?
What were my biggest achievements?
What risks did I take?
What were my biggest challenges?
What was my most loving service?
Which three people had the most impact on my life this year and how?
What was my biggest surprise?
What is my unfinished business (if any) from 2019?
What word or phrase sums up 2019 for me?
Thinking about 2020:
What do I want your main achievement of the year to be?
What would I be happiest about completing?
What will be my biggest risk?
Who or what am I most committed to loving or serving?
What about my work am I most committed to changing or improving?
What brings me most joy and how can I build in more of that?
What advice would I like to give myself?
What word or phrase would I like as my theme for 2020?
