It is important to start and end years with retrospectives that take time out to recognize how far I’ve come. This is my current working practice for end-of-year retrospectives.

🧑‍🤝‍🧑 Thanksgiving

Nothing is possible without the people and things that support me. To start the retrospective, it is important to practice gratitude. This takes time to think and acknoledge all the things to be thankful for.

People: This is the best time to be grateful to the influential people in my life in the past year. Make a list of people to be grateful for, and write personalized messages for each and every one of them.

Life: It is also important to practice some indigenous wisdom, and send thanks to the life that surrounds us on the planet. Thank the universe for its abundance in giving me the things I need to stay alive. This is where I seek harmony with the web of all life on the planet.

Events: Many incredible things happened over the past year, if I just stopped and noticed. Listing the things that I am grateful for over the past year helps bring awareness back to how far I’ve come.

🪞 Reflection

Take some time for free-form reflection on the past year.

What went right? What didn’t go right? What could’ve gone better? Did I learn anything new about myself?

🤔 Takeaways

Based on the reflection, list 5 big takeaways from the last year. Learning from the things that worked and the things that didn’t work is a key part of personal development.

🌈 Theme

Now, after gaining awareness of all the takeaways from the past year, set a theme for the next year. The theme is a single sentence that encapsulates all to be manifested in the following year. It is concise and easy to remember.

🥅 Goals

Based on the theme, outline and set 5 overarching goals for the next year. These could be projects that should be completed, things to learn, or even self-care goals.

📎 Administrative Tasks

1. Clean and refresh any outstanding projects and tasks in Todoist

Past Retrospectives: 2022-retrospective

Other Related Meanderings: