As the end of 2019 approaches, it’s important to highlight all the stuff you’ve accomplished and to consider the areas where you can still improve.
The end of the year is a time for lots of celebration and joy, but it’s also often a time of stress and melancholy. A date that signifies the end of yet another year is the perfect way of making us reflect on all the things we’ve accomplished or, a little more depressingly, all the things we’ve yet to do.
Something more helpful than stressing out over missed opportunities is to use the end of the year as a way of checking in with yourself and noticing where you stand. Rarely do we ever get the chance to think about our progress in terms of our relationships, work, and our physical and emotional health.
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Fast Company spoke with Katie Sandler, an impact coach who stresses on the importance of looking back in order to look forward. “This is the time of year when people look forward and decide what their resolutions are going to be. Whether they realize it or not, creating those resolutions comes from taking inventory of what they have been doing. As you move into 2020, it’s important to first look back,” she says.
Here’s how you start:
Take inventory of your year
The easiest way to measure the progress of your year is to split it up according to the different areas of your life, such as career, relationships, finances, health and personal development. Sandler recommends asking yourself some important questions regarding your year, such as listing out four highs and four lows, how did you reach those highs and how you got over the lows. Check through what stressed you out the most, and what aspects you were most grateful in 2019.
Celebrate the good stuff
For some reason, the bad stuff tends to stick out, eclipsing all the good things that happened in your year. It’s important to not gloss over the negatives, but to also focus on your positive accomplishments, reviewing the skills you acquired through the year. If the skill is one you appreciate, make sure to write them down and to put in the work in order to continue to practice those skills.
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Skills are never fully completed and learned, which is why it’s important to celebrate the little steps and to give yourself the room to pat yourself on the back.
Think about the future of your career
Use your year end review to highlight different aspects of your career. Keep track of your accomplishments and use them as examples when the opportunity presents itself at work. It may feel weird to highlight all of the good stuff you do to your superior in work, but it’s important to have these examples when the right moment pops up, building yourself up and reminding people of why they hired you in the first place.
