KEY QUESTIONS TO ASK IN THE NEW YEAR
Updated December 2023. Originally posted January 2016.
Each year, between December 1st and February 1st, I spend a good chunk of hours with giant post-its, markers, planners, notebooks, and pens.
Tools in hand, I reflect on the previous year, vision and plan for the year ahead, and attempt to increase my odds of achieving the things that are most important by getting really clear on what they are, what they look like, and how to get there.
Here are the key questions I'm asking and answering as we look ahead to the new year.
Reflecting: Looking Back
Highlights and things to celebrate:
What am I most grateful for?
Meaningful moments of the past year:
What am I most proud of?
Key lessons, learnings, things to do differently:
What worked well? What do I want to continue?
What didn’t work? What do I want to let go of?
Ways I’ve grown or expanded in the past year:
What was the single biggest game changer of the year?
How did I grow?
What did I learn?
How am I different now than when I started the year?
Biggest lesson/bit of wisdom to carry forward:
Visioning: Looking Ahead
To keep it simple, I ask these three questions:
How do I want to feel in this new year? (for example: creative, effective, confident, etc)
What are my top 3 priorities for the year ahead?
What's possible in the year ahead?
To go deeper, I might also ask:
What are the top 3-5 values I want to honor this year?
What do I want to create (more of) in my work and/or my life this year?
What do I want less of?
What do I need to let go of?
What is the one thing I can do that will positively impact all the rest?
What is my intention for the year ahead?
What is a word, a phrase, or a tagline to capture this intention?
Action: Making It Real
What's the single most important thing I can do to turn these possibilities into realities?
What other specific actions do I want to take in the year ahead to feel the way I want to feel, and create the things I want to create?
What do I want to stop doing in the year ahead?
What do I want to start doing in the year ahead?
What do I want to continue doing in the year ahead?
What is one thing I can do this month?
What do you think? Any favorites of yours that are missing from the list?
Wishing you a joyful and powerful start to the new year.
