Celebrate Success, Plan for the Next Ones!

Almost 10 years ago, I started a tradition of doing mid-year and end-of-year close outs. While this might seem like a very serious, very formal process, the truth is, it's a great way to organize your thoughts and goals. It's also a wonderful way to give yourself credit for all the things you've accomplished so far.

Guided Reflection

I like to think about both my personal and professional life when I do my reflection. It helps me get the whole picture, and reminds me that I am not just one or the other. This is especially important for people who are juggling both a hectic home life, and a demanding work life. Here are some of the things I add to my reflection:

• Did I set any goals this year? If so, what were they?

• Where they the right kind of goals? Were they things that I was interested in?

• Did those goals change at all? Did I create new ones?

• What are the things that I really wanted to accomplish vs the ones that were kind of...fuzzy?

• Did anything come up this year that I didn't expect? If so, how has it impacted my plans?

• Am I being realistic or am I being too hard on myself?

• Did I remember to include fun things?

If you're looking for a place to start, here's a simple chart for you to fill out. I've included an example in the first row to get you started.

• Goal: What did you want to accomplish? Ex. learn to braid my own hair or become a fullstack engineer

• How did it go: How much progress did you make? Did you end up pushing it to a later time?

• What would you do again: What went well in progressing towards this goal? Did you learn anything that will be helpful for future goals?

• What would you do differently: Was there anything you wouldn't do again? Was anything hard or confusing? Were there other ways you would have approached this if you had the information you have now?

Goal	How did it go?	What would you do again?	What would you do differently?
​Start a nonprofit	I did it!	Get support from my friends and peers, making lists and commitments to myself	Set more realistic timelines, do more research upfront and maybe go to a class or do an online program.

Don't Over Complicate It!

Going into this exercise, I recommend you keep it simple. Sometimes, we have the tendency to want to perfect everything we produce. This reflection is personal; it should reflect what you need. You can scribble in the margins, add stickers and drawings, highlight important words, or anything else that helps you 'see the big picture'.