Have you reviewed your year 2018 yet? But, aren’t New Year’s resolutions enough trouble? With this powerful end-of-year review you can assess and appreciate this past year in three simple steps for success in 2019.
Reviewing a year gone by, as much as any project at work, will help you celebrate your successes and give you a clear view of what worked and what you could do differently.
When you reflect on what went well, what was freaking awesome and what could have gone better, you will be able to rejig your approach and reset your goals for the year ahead. You’ll find good moments from the past year to commit to your memory, celebrate your victories and learn from your mistakes.
And the best part, it is lots of fun. In your end-of-year review, you’ll reminisce, note down everything that you feel is worthy of your time and attention, and then you can let go. Your paper, notebook, or bullet journal will hold the information for you and you can get back to it whenever you feel like it.
So how to best go about it? Here’s what you can do:
End-of-Year Review
Currently, my favourite quote is: Happiness is perceived progress.
Look back at your past year and remember the good, the bad and the ugly. This will help you appreciate the progress you have made. A bullet journal is ideal for this. Every day I make a quick note on how I spent my free time. I either worked on my big goals or if I didn’t, I might have just taken the evening off. To me, that also counts as a win, as I always complained before about not having enough “down time”. Just the fact that I note it down, makes me realize that I do have time where I relax. My weekly goals help me stay on track and I can enjoy a “night off”. No more guilt! The secret is all in where your attention is on.
In your end-of-year review, jot down your thoughts based on the following categories
- Highlights of the past year
- Achievements
- To be Thankful for
- Lessons learned
- Things to improve
List of favourites:
- Funniest moment of the year
- New friend(s) you made
- Best food
- Treasured family memory
- Movie you liked the most
- Favourite song/band
These are two examples of how I reviewed my past year in my bullet journal:
Stargazer mind map
Circular timeline
Level 10 Life
In step #2 you will reflect on your life by using a tool called Level 10 Life
This is how to do it: Decide on the areas of your life you would like to review. The list below may inspire you to find your own.
- Family
- Partnership
- Friends
- Finances
- Career/Job
- Health and Fitness
- Fun and Recreation/leisure
- Giving
- Home/Physical environment
- Personal Growth and Development
- Spirituality
Choose 10 areas that resonate most with you or you find most important in your life.
Then, asses each area by asking yourself the following questions:
- On a scale from 1-10, with ten being the happiest/best, how would you rate your INSERT AREA 1?
- Why is your number at this level?
- What would it take to reach a higher level?
Note down all your answers and then move to the next area.
Level 10 Life is most times accompanied by the page Level 10 Goals. On it, you can write down your ideas on how to increase your happiness in this specific area. Remember the question you asked yourself earlier “What would it take to reach a higher level?” Your answer will guide you in filling out your goals.
For my bujo friends out there, you can also chart out your findings in this Level 10 chart
In my Level 10 Life I assessed the area spirituality with 7. My Level 10 Goals list that I could meditate to increase this area. I have heard so many good things about regular mediation but never got around to it. To be fair, I haven’t figured out yet how to include this into my daily routine, but I thought I could at least use daily affirmations to set myself up for success in the morning: Mini-meditation. Yay! And bam got one thing covered without stressing myself out about having to meditate daily.
19 before 2019
Are you still thinking about the dreaded resolutions? The ones that nobody ever keeps?
New Year’s resolutions cannot work if you don’t plan out your goals, break them into achievable steps AND have fun along the way. The 19 before 2019 bucket list is a fun way to end your year and might give you a head start on your resolutions.
On it, you come up with 19 things you want to be doing before the end of the year 2018. Make it to whatever you want! This is your list, it should not be arbitrary. Most importantly, you should have FUN with it.
Hope you had or will also have lots of fun with your review of 2018. Let me know how your review goes. I would love to hear from you.
