’Tis the Season … of Year End Reviews

While December just makes me want to throw on Christmas pajamas and sing along to Mariah Carey in my kitchen, it also feels like the busiest time of year in the office, with Year End deadlines looming and, of course, the notorious Annual Review on the calendar.

Year End reviews in the office are commonplace, and amongst young professionals it is an often dreaded, yet necessary process to reflect on and measure our performance over the last year. I just wrapped up my Annual Review at work, and as much as I stressed about it, I realized that the process of preparing my review positioned me well to set concrete and tangible goals for 2021.

Reflecting on the last year made me take a hard look at the goals I set out to accomplish in 2020, what relationships I had built, how I allocated my time, and the impact that I had in my role.

I spent so much time carefully reflecting and documenting my wins at work… and if I dedicated a fraction of that time spent reflecting on my personal life, I thought I might be better positioned to take on 2021 as a whole.

So much of me is burnt out and tired from the last year. In reflecting, I spent some time wallowing in this idea that 2020 has been a year of lost time. Lost time with my friends, with my life in Manhattan, and the adventures and laughs that could have been. But without these lows, I could not have come to know some of the highest of highs, including the priceless time gained with my parents, the freedom of working from anywhere, and the joy of negative COVID- test cleared reunions.

With less than two weeks left in the year, I’m certainly restless with anticipation for 2021. But before I can put 2020 far in my past, I’ve spent some time reflecting on my year. There are many personal annual review templates out there; The Ultimate Annual Review by Steve Schlafman and the Wellness Wisdom Annual Review by Patricia Mou are two comprehensive guides that I found really helpful. On a high level, I’ve summarized my review in four buckets below with hopes that looking back will help us launch forward, and take on 2021.

Who… who helped shape my year for the better, and who do I want to reconnect with in 2021?

My #1 must do before Year End is checking in with people. Ed Mylett talks about separation moments — minutes, actions, and behaviors that have a rippling impact. Thoughtfully touching base with people is a fundamental separation moment. I am a firm believer in leaving a trail of positivity, and I think that touching base with people you love, especially after a year like 2020, is so critically important.

The holidays are a great time to circle back with people in your life, personally or professionally. Sending a note, dropping a quick call, or shooting text to your people around the holidays is a great way to nurture your network.

• To learn more about the importance of checking in with people, listen to Ed Mylett’s episode Separation Season here.

What…what habits have I built over the last year and what has helped me build them?

It is easy to think about the milestones or events that stick out when reflecting on the last year, but I wanted to take a closer look at my average day. Habits are so telling, as they are behaviors that we practice regularly. Flipping through the past pages of my planner, helped me assess how my routines and habits have changed over the last year, for better or for worse.

When we abruptly shifted to a remote environment in March, I craved the routine that my walk to work once provided me with and became focused on building new structure into my day.

The Self Planner from Best Self includes weekly planning pages, monthly habit trackers, and monthly benchmarks for reflection— this was instrumental in helping me put framework around my day-to-day while working from home over the last year. I would highly recommend this planner to anyone who is looking for a gentle nudge towards more structured planning and reflection.

• To explore other helpful planners and products from Best Self, check out their website here.

Additionally, Dr. Michael Gervais’s episode of Finding Mastery with Charles Duhigg on The Power of Habits helped change the way I think about habits, and put a clear framework on how to build better ones.

• To learn more about the importance of habits, and how to think about them going into the New Year, listen to The Power of Habits on Spotify.

How… how did I spend my time and money in 2020?

I wanted to take stock of how I was using my time and money over the last year. I thought about my year in terms of percentages, and reflected on the ways I allocated my time between work, family & friends, self-care & exercise, and other passion projects. Doing this helped me reflect on when I was able to use my time most efficiently, and identify areas to improve on for 2021.

Additionally, while my credit card might not be thrilled with me from the weight of my holiday gift haul, I generally like to use December to get re-organized around my personal finances. A few things that I like to think about include:

• Income & Expenses — What have my income & expenses looked like over the last year? Do I anticipate these to change in 2021, and how can I prepare for that now?
• Investments & Retirement Portfolios — What am I currently invested in? How has my portfolio performed over the last year? What do I want to get invested in 2021? Have I contributed enough to my Roth IRA for 2020?
• Charitable Contributions & Company Match Policies —Are there any charities I am interested in donating to before year-end, and have I leveraged my company match gifting policy for 2020?

Why… what is my “why” going into 2021?

According to Harvard Business Review, aligning just 20% of your day with purpose helps people feel more fulfilled in their day-to-day work. I’m fortunate to have spent some time over the last quarter of 2020 with Intuitive Career Strategist Emilyelizamoyer and Journaling Expert ariel upton developing and refining my purpose statement and intention going into 2021. Revisiting these guiding principles as part of my year-end reflection provided me with a helpful lense to assess my last year, and reinforced my commitment to live each day intentionally in the new year.

• For more insight on how to live with purpose and intuition, check out Emily Eliza Moyer on Instagram @emilyelizamoyer
• For journaling and reflection guidance & prompts, check out Ariel Upton and her program here @ Today I Did it Right.

Soundtrack to this post: evermore by Taylor Swift