For my inaugural post, I am sharing with you a tool I developed, and am still evolving, to review the past year, help identify trends, and focus on priorities for the present year and beyond. I call this tool my Past-Year Retrospective Worksheet. Reflecting upon the past year isn't a novel idea; virtually every self-help guru under the sun has some version. However, I hope that my worksheet, the questions I present, and the order in which I've presented them will give you food for thought, and help you on your journey as it has helped me. Furthermore, this tool may be helpful at any time of the year, or any major turning point in your life as a vehicle for introspection. Have at it! Whatever helps you go from doing mode to reflecting mode is beneficial, and it may even spark further questions for your contemplation. Something else that has helped me enormously in performing this exercise is a daily activities journal. Toward this end, I have a regular paper datebook with blank entries for each day. However, instead of using it to plan future events, I'll spend about 5-10 minutes each morning as part of my routine writing down what happened the previous day. In an age of ubiquitous technology and a smartphone app for literally everything, something is calming, endearing, and intimate about putting pen to actual paper. It's not exhaustive, just half a dozen sentences about what I did yesterday and any notable events. Then, when it is time to look back on the year as a whole, I have the datebook as a guide to help me remember the particulars of what happened (and I find that there is A LOT that I wouldn't otherwise recall). So without further adieu, here is my Past-Year Retrospective Worksheet with some general guidelines to help you along, should you choose to use it.
Section 1: Reflection
The first section of this worksheet deals with looking backward, taking stock of the year, and identifying patterns and lessons you can bring forward to help you in the new year. It can help identify blind spots, strengths, and weaknesses. It may be facilitated by reading the daily log entries that you've written in your datebook, reviewing your journal, or simply contemplating the year as a whole and considering what stands out as notable. It may be helpful to simply close your eyes and reflect on the year before going through your datebook because what comes up first off the top of your head is likely to be the most significant. Regardless of how you approach it, don't stress out too much, and remember to have fun!
What went well this year?
This is the best part! What were your major wins? Accomplishments? You should celebrate those successes. Or perhaps there were a few things that happened that weren't necessarily under your control but turned out well regardless. Use it as an opportunity to practice gratitude. If your list is long, feel free to organize them into categories, such as "career," "health and wellness," etc. Again, I'd encourage you not to overthink it too much, however. Don't feel obligated to list everything in order. Whatever order these pop into your head is likely more important than when they happened chronologically, anyway.
What didn't go as well as you had hoped?
Now, the other side of the coin. Where did you fall short? What could you have done differently? To reiterate: this is not an exercise in self-flagellation. Look at each situation objectively and with a mind of self-compassion, and record what happened. Also, don't analyze in depth or start solutioning—that can come later. For now, just create a succinct, bulleted list including events or circumstances that weren't entirely under your control.
What patterns do you notice?
Now you can analyze, a little, but be sure to stay in your right brain and continue to embrace this as a creative exercise. There may be different angles to approach this and an assortment of tools that you can use. If you have a journal, peruse it. For myself, personally, I like to also do an end-of-journal review whenever I get to the end of each one. These two items—my datebook and journal—represent windows into my external and internal lives, respectively. You may be surprised what stands out since it's so easy to be on auto-pilot throughout much of our waking lives.
What seemed to be the overarching themes for the year?
This builds upon your answers to the previous questions but takes a step back and attempts to highlight various aspects of the year from a more poetic angle. What are the higher-order patterns of the year, or nuggets of wisdom that you can discern? This doesn't need to be an exhaustive list, perhaps one or two succinct lines are enough. Some examples from my retrospective include, "travel refreshes the spirit," and "coping with loss and the vicissitudes of life."
What lessons did you learn?
Once again building upon the answers to the previous questions, this is an opportunity to reflect on ways to improve or lessons that you learned. Some of the patterns you noted earlier may not have been ideal—that's something you can make note of and improve upon going forward. Some of the patterns may have been surprisingly positive. Make a note of these as well, because they are areas of strength that you may or may not have even been aware of. Either way, maintain your attitude of non-judgment and self-compassion because beating yourself up won't make the situation better. Acknowledging where you fell short and committing to change, will.
Section 2: Looking Ahead
The second section deals with taking stock of where you are at present and starting to look toward the new year. Please note that this is not intended for goal-setting—that is part of another exercise that builds on this. Rather, it's more about getting an intuitive stance on how everything is going in your life right now and what you would like to see happen in the new year. The first two questions are general and rooted in the present. The following two questions are specific and project into the future. Note that I used the term "outcome" rather than "goal." This is intentional, because outcomes are results, and they may or may not happen because of our actions. However, some of our goals may drive the outcomes that we're looking to manifest and this can help to hash those out later on.
What are you hopeful about going into the new year?
What are some circumstances or events, either in your own life or in the world at large, that give you reason for optimism? Especially if you're going through a rough patch (and we all do at some point), this can help give you a more realistic picture and not see life through a filter of absolutism. There's always reason to be hopeful, even in the most challenging times. Furthermore, these also represent opportunities or possibilities that you'll want to keep in mind as you navigate the year.
What are some concerns/anxieties that you have going into the new year?
Similar to Tim Ferriss's "fear-setting" exercise, but in condensed form, this is your chance to name all the boogeymen and unsettling possibilities that are on your mind. Don't over-analyze, just list. At some later point, you can employ a more focused methodology to discern the veracity of each, like the aforementioned "fear-setting" or perhaps some CBT technique. The purpose is just to get everything out in the open and to be mindful of anything that stands out. These will then help you later on when you are planning to be more proactive.
What specific outcomes would you like to see happen in the new year?
These are the specific results you'd like to see happen, either in your own life or in the world at large. There's a nuance here: these don't need to be (shouldn't be) framed as goals and they don't need to be S.M.A.R.T. This is a chance to look inside and understand what you ACTUALLY WANT. Be honest with yourself, and be true to yourself. This is all part of a process of introspection and self-understanding. For example, maybe you might list out "financial independence." Great! Keep going! "World peace." Okay! These are building blocks that you can use later on when setting actual, concrete goals. In the example I just gave, maybe when you are reflecting on your answers you may determine that you cannot achieve financial independence in 12 months or heal all the strife in the world. Fine. You can rewrite the outcome as something more realistic, like "opening up a side source of income" or "contributing to peace in my community." At the same time, however, don't lose the original. Keep it written/typed down somewhere because it informs your North Star. After this exercise is complete, you'll have a chance to backward engineer these outcomes into achievable, clearly defined goals, should you choose.
What specific outcomes would you like to avoid/not see happen in the new year?
What are the pitfalls you'd like to avoid or unpleasant situations around you that you don't want to see come to pass? This is similar to the "anxieties" question above, but more specific and more concrete. In keeping with the recurring theme of this exercise, some of these may or may not be entirely under your control. Now is a good opportunity to practice the techniques of Stoicism and decide which of those you can influence and to what extent. Then you can start making plans to deal with these circumstances, should they arise. Conversely, you can practice acceptance concerning those outcomes that are mostly or entirely out of your control.
Conclusion
I just shared with you a template for introspection which I call my Past-Year Retrospective Worksheet. This is a simple, yet powerful tool for engaging your right brain and creative thinking to review the past year (or any other timeframe you wish) to look for patterns, identify obstacles, elucidate fears and uncertainties, and glean nuggets of wisdom to aid you in your journey through the new year and beyond. I hope you find it useful in your efforts and wish you success and prosperity going forward. - A.F.