Year in Review & Goals for 2022
I know this is going to come off as cliché but let’s be honest, a lot of us at least think about setting goals for the new year.
This time of year we all start thinking about what lies ahead. I am absolutely no exception, but I think I have found a way to set some healthy goals for the coming year while also staying present, grateful and realistic about life’s ups and downs. Here I will show you how I do that in a creative and encouraging way, and give you a template so you can do the same!
Format
First things first, you need a format. Whether it’s a journal (my personal preference, here are my favorite journal and pens), sticky notes on a wall, or a digital format like a google doc, illustrator document or Miro board (actually this one is a great idea). All you need is a way of documenting your thoughts, and preferably a way to color code those thoughts.
Reviewing your year
WHY REVIEW YOUR YEAR?
It’s hard to look ahead without looking back a little bit. For example: you can’t exactly set a budget for February without looking at your expenses for January. It’s also a great time to celebrate your successes, look at areas that could have been better (or just not quite as difficult), and make good decisions for your wellbeing moving forward.
SET UP SOME CATEGORIES
I like to set categories as a way to review my year and remember events, successes, and hardships. Usually this looks something like Health & Fitness, Family, Friends, Creative/Work, Personal Development and Finances. Then I give each category a color, list out the months of the year, and within each month I write significant events or milestones in the color of whatever category it may fall under. Now, what I deem significant may be different than other people, but I try to list both negative and positive things to get a well rounded look back at my year. This is a great place for real, honest reflection because it’s just for you, and it helps you get a full picture of your journey through the last year.
LOOK BACK AT PHOTOS & VIDEOS
As an aside, I know this is a time when we also reflect on our last year by posting photo and video montages on our social media. I enjoy doing this and I try to do it around the same time I am working on my journaling because it helps kickstart my memory of the last year. Sometimes I completely forget about certain events until I am looking back at my camera roll. I also look back through my calendar and even sometimes emails just to jog my memory
Looking forward to the next year
WHY LOOK FORWARD?
I think it’s certainly healthy to look forward and make plans and goals for your year. It gives you direction, time to really consider what matters to you, and even create some accountability by being able to articulate what you would like your life to look like over the next 12 months.
WRITE DOWN THE MILESTONES
I love to mark out my year first with milestones. This gives me a good starting point and some opportunities to anchor my year around major events, lifestyle shifts or big plans. This could include big things like weddings (your own or others), due dates for babies, moving or purchasing a home, or things like major holidays, spring or summer breaks, or vacations. I do this digitally in iCal as well as in my Rifle Paper Co. Calendar. (If you are the planner type, I also highly recommend the Passion Planner!)
MAKE A FEW PLANS
Now that you have major milestones marked out, it’s good to write in some other plans you may have for the year! On a calendar add in some things you know will be happening next year. Maybe weekend trips, business trips or camping trips (we have to plan these way in advance because state parks in Michigan book up so fast!). You can also plan on holiday travels, birthday parties, or other events you know you’d like to attend. This isn’t always a commitment, but I find it’s nice to see that you have a lot of different types of things to look forward to throughout the year.
SET INTENTIONS
Finally to goals. There is a reason this is the last thing I do and it’s because LIFE is still happening. It’s nice to see my life happening and moving forward regardless of my goals or dreams. I want my goals to fit my life, not necessarily to HAVE to fit my life around just my goals. With goals I like to keep my same categories and colors as I used to review my last year and just start making lists! These goals can be anything from income goals to relational ones. It’s nice to have a combination of measurable goals (run a half marathon this year) as well as general intentions (document life more). It can be tempting just to set vague, big ideas and just forget about them come February. I would recommend writing them out, putting them somewhere you will see them regularly, and then breaking them down into smaller more attainable tasks and milestones either monthly, quarterly or even weekly!
Word of the Year
Last but not least I do like to pick a word for my year. I see a lot of people doing this and kind of forgetting about it a few months later but that’s why I like to go with a nice umbrella word. Something more focused on my own personal view of my life and helps me stay present. For 2021 my word was Marvel. It was something I wanted to focus on in every season, staying present, being grateful and just being able to marvel at the life I have been given. It’s good to choose a word you can use to center your mindset and come back to your values.
This year my word is Bloom (I know it’s cheesy, but I think that’s kinda the point 😂) for me this is similar to the word thrive or something along those lines, but I think it captures the idea of newness as well. I hope this word can help me embrace new ideas, projects and seasons, while being able to let go of things that didn’t serve me well in the past year. I don’t come back to this word every day but I try to meditate on the idea when I can. It’s nice to have intention behind your days and an idea that can bring you back to your core values as you make decisions throughout the year.
Obviously there are a million variations of this process, but this has worked so well for me the past several years, so I definitely wanted to share. Click here to download my year-in-review and goal setting template you can fill out digitally, print and fill out, or use as a template for your bullet journal!