The personal year end review: 2022 Edition

Each year for the last six years, I have taken a personal offsite. I have moved to a different physical location in order to change context. I have then walked through the year that has just passed and planned for the year ahead.

This is less about planning for my business and more about my overall life. Everything is connected. If your personal life is not optimal, your work life won’t be either. And vice versa.

Now, ‘optimal’ is a high bar. There is no such thing as perfection. It’s a unicorn. A fantasy. What I am getting at here is intention.

Am I living the life that I intend to live? Am I achieving the things that I intended to achieve? What are my intentions in life for the coming year?

This is distinctly separate from your business planning. I am assuming there is lots of that taking place already. This is a time for you to reflect on your life. To find things to be grateful for. To recognize how much you have accomplished. To set some dreams and goals for the coming year.

I encourage you to change your circumstances. Find a nice, quiet place, ideally near nature if you can. Take a day and work through these questions below.

If you do it annually (or even more frequently) it can be really powerful and gratifying to look back on prior years and see how far you have come.

I would love to know how this review worked for you.

Looking back at 2022

With calendar in hand, what were the highlights of the year?

What did I achieve?

What did I fail to achieve?

What am I most proud of?

What am I happiest about?

What did I learn?

What would I change about myself?

How did I let myself down?

How happy was I? What would make me happier?

What brings me joy?

Am I happy with how I allocate my time and presence across my various roles and responsibilities (ie. CEO, parent, child, etc…)?

What have I achieved already that I just haven’t realized yet? (aka – what goals/ worries can I check off)?

Looking ahead to 2023

What would I like to change about my life?

What do I want more of in my life? Less of? None of?

What is most important to me?

On a blank sheet of paper how would I design my work and life for maximum fulfillment, impact and happiness?

What do I want to prioritize?

How can I make my life simpler?

How can I make my mind clearer?

What are my goals this year? How will I achieve them (action plan)?

What habits do I need to remove?

What habits do I need to add?

What skills do I need to acquire?

Photo by Donald Giannatti on Unsplash