During this turning point from 2023 to 2024, I encourage you to carve out some time to reflect on the past 12 months and then start to think forward into 2024.
The reason that looking back first is important is because, otherwise, it’s easy not to see what we’re doing that affects our productivity and success. Taking the time to look back helps us not to default to the mistakes and patterns of the past.
“You wish to reform the world: reform yourself, otherwise your efforts will be in vain.” — St. Ignatius
Reflecting on the past year:
- For the past year, what was your overall theme?
- What were your three biggest wins personally?
- What were your three biggest wins professionally?
- What were the top three lessons you learned?
- What was the one personal quality you developed in 2023?
- List the ways this quality helped you both personally and professionally.
Preparing for the new year:
- Looking forward, what do you want your overall theme for the new year to be? I typically identify one to three words to use as “anchors” throughout the year — short and easy to remember, e.g., confidence, letting go, boldness, joy, achievement.
- What are your top three personal goals for 2024?
- What are your top three professional goals for 2024?
- What personal quality do you most want to develop in 2024?
- List the ways this quality will help you move forward both personally and professionally.
This process is simple and doesn’t take a lot of time. The first set of questions will help you clarify insights by looking back at the direction the past year took you, and then compare those insights (what worked and what didn’t) to where you finally wound up. This record lets you review what you achieved and helps clarify what you want/need your next steps to be.
Remember, it’s not what kind of journal you write in (spiral notebook, Word doc, fancy journal) — it’s that you record your insights and progress. This is what will make a difference in your success!
Have fun with this! Be grateful for the lessons of the past year, set goals that will stretch you and choose a memorable anchor word to inspire you to stay the course.
Happy New Year!
