007: Reflection • Year In Review

Reflection • Year In Review

Do you ever finish a day or a week and wonder what you accomplished?   How about for an entire year? 

This has definitely happened to me and I have found that conducting organized reflection helps me appreciate and learn from my activities and actions. It also sets me up for success to be intentional with future planning. Today I want to walk through my process for Year in Review Self Reflection. 

What is a Self Reflection?

When you hear the term Year in Review - other reviews may come to mind - You see programs that discuss the year in sports or the year in fashion and they review the highlights of the year - the highs and the lows. It also brings to mind the Year in Review you might see in a Year book. What was the #1 song or movie of the year? Or what was the largest science breakthrough or discovery? But we are not talking about pop culture or top news stories. This is all about the Your Year! Your opportunity for self-reflection.

Reflection is a generic term for those intellectual and affective activities in which individuals engage to explore their experiences, in order to lead to a new understanding and appreciation. — Boud, Keough, & Walker, 1985

Why do Self Reflection and Year in Review?

Reflection is the foundation of living an intentional life and it is a power connector skill. There are many benefits of an annual review. 

 • Reflect on your accomplishments and celebrate

 • Reflect on lessons learned and your new competencies

 • Acknowledge mistakes

 • Reflect on what you could have done differently

 • Assess what brought you joy and passion

Mood & Mindset

Before we jump in, let's set the mood and get you in the right mindset for this Year in Review. It can be powerful, energizing, and even emotional. 

When and how do you want to do this? This is an exercise where you want to prioritize you. Ideally find some alone time and a place where you feel comfortable. While I do a lot of my planning outdoors, it is usually too cold when I am doing this at the end of the year, so I usually opt for the chaise lounge in my bedroom looking out the window. How much time - I like to take a few hours myself in one session and then another 30 minutes a few days later to complete my reflection process. I have friends and clients who take more time and move right into their annual planning. I actually like to separate the steps of reflection vs planning. I want to take the time to reflect and celebrate. 

Hopefully you celebrated throughout the year, but often we do not take time to appreciate our successes and all too often jump right into the next thing. I will use my notes from my reflection as a basis for my planning session.  

So where do I start?   I follow 3 steps.

Step 1 – Connector Life Reflection

Step 2 – Goal Reflection

Step 3 – Reflection Questions

Step 1 Connector Life Reflection

My connector life framework includes Self, Family/Friends, Career, and Community

My philosophy is to have as much work-life integration/connection as possible which is why I show the areas of life as a Venn diagram. 

I will give myself a score on a scale of 1-10 and compare it to the prior year.

Step 2 - Goal Reflection

I then look at goals that I had set for the year. I do not write resolutions but I do create goals and action plans to accomplish them. So do you have goals that you can reflect on? If you don't, that is no problem! Come back to kimberboothe.com/blog to find my next post on annual planning to set you up for success this year.

Step 3 - Reflection Questions

While there are a ton of questions you can ask yourself in reflection - here are the 10 that I prioritize. 

 1. Did I live, Did I love, Did I matter? - Brendon Burchard

 2. What knowledge did I acquire, or new skills did I learn?

 3. What was your proudest accomplishment?

 4. What is the most important goal I achieved?

 5. When did I feel most inspired?

 6. What was my biggest disappointment?

 7. Where did my time and money go?

 8. What were the magic moments?

 9. What am I most grateful for?

 10. What three words describe my year?

What question do you like to ask yourself?

As you may be able to tell, it may be hard to remember everything from the prior year. This reflection can also be done when you want to reflect and assess shorter periods of time such as the last month or last week. Try to follow these steps on a more frequent basis and you will be more productive and connected.  

In the next Connector Life Blog, we will discuss creating an annual plan and map of your year.  

Join the ongoing conversation at kimberboothe.com and subscribe to my email list so we can connect regularly and you will receive content I don't share anywhere else. 

You can access the Bonus Download - CONNECTION REFLECTION. This

is a tool help you reflect following the 3 steps discussed today. 

Now it's your turn:

Download the Connection Reflection Tool Share your scores and the answer to the question that was most insightful for you in the comments section below. 

Be bold, be a connector, and excel in all areas of your life. Invest in your yourself!

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" Reflection is the foundation of living an intentional life and it is a power connector skill."  - Tweet This

– Kimber Boothe