Don’t skip right to the new year resolutions and vision boards. Start by reviewing your past year, then you can plan the new year.
We all love some good new year's resolutions, and I gotta be honest, so do i. Something about fresh starts and new beginnings just does it for me. I'm sure many can relate. While new year's resolutions are important, something often overlooked is the past year's review.
You have never existed in the new year, which is why there are endless possibilities, and with good planning, the sky is your limit. For some reason, we completely disregard the place we are coming from, which is the year just ended. Yeah, we are over and done with it, but so much has happened through the year that we can take into account to make our coming year better. The best thing about this data is that it is based on facts, and based on exactly your life because it is exactly your life.
Researchers rely on data a lot to make future predictions, and this data is never 100% accurate in terms of future predictions. But you literally have the right data to analyze so you can build a better future for yourself. This data you have is 100% accurate because it’s your life starring you, and nothing is going to change that. Not the past, nor the present or future you. So rather than ignoring a whole lifetime of your life when planning for your future, I would highly suggest critically analyzing it to build a better new year.
What are the benefits of reviewing the past year?
There are so many benefits of reviewing your past year. It is almost unimportant to document every aspect of your life if you are not going to use it to better your future. And even if you never documented, this is probably your first time looking into planning, it’s okay. You can download this PDF to help you review your past year.
Here are some of the benefits of reviewing your past year;
- Acknowledging how far you’ve come
- Counting your wins
- Identifying your mistakes and learning from them
- Regain focus for the new year
- Building a blueprint for better you
How to review your year and plan for a new year
I always advise taking a day off for this one. Make sure you are in a space that makes you feel calm, almost like you’re on vacation. Leave the house for a few hours if you have to. Leave your workspace, go to a cafe, restaurant or even rent out an air bnb if you want to.
This is not some tedious chore you need to do to get out the way. Take your time, spend a whole day on this, it is a worthy investment.
Download this free PDF to help you with the planning process. You can use it digitally or print it.
Hit play on the podcast, and get to reviewing and planning. Pause whenever you need to, really think about what you are writing. Envision, visualize.
- Right after you review your past year
- You plan for 2022
- Then you design a vision board.
When you do complete this task, make sure you post this on your social media and tag @moodplanners . You can also post it directly to the Facebook group. Your completion certificate, because YOU DID THAT.
Now get ready for a kick ass year, because this is your year!
“I’m often asked about how I approach New Year’s resolutions. The truth is that I no longer approach them at all, even though I did for decades. Why the change? I have found “past year reviews” more informed, valuable, and actionable than half-blindly looking forward with broad resolutions.” - Tim Ferris
As you review your past year, your goal is not to solely focus on things you did not achieve or things that went wrong. You need to look at the whole year as objectively as possible. Be thankful for the good times, celebrate the wins, sit in your gratitude. Then you take your mistakes and look at how you can learn from them.
Your mistakes are only failures if you do not learn from them.
Click here to learn how to break down these goals into quarterly goals, monthly goals, weekly goals, and eventually daily tasks to make them achievable. big time goals can be intimidating, break them down in the best way. Learn how to plan backward.
