End of Year Reflection + FREE Printable Workbook

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Can you believe that we are at the end of the year already?

I feel like I get to the end of every year and think the same thing.

“How the heck did the time go so fast?”

“What did I actually do?”

“Did I even get close to hitting any of my goals?”

And often… I can’t even remember. And I RARELY take time to sit back and reflect on it because I just want to start planning for the New Year.

So can I encourage you to do something this week?

Take some time to reflect, applaud your success, take in the gratitude, and really close out 2017.

When you just start to jump into planning all you want to achieve for the NEXT year, you miss out on such a crucial step. All that you accomplished or did not accomplish in 2017 is so important. It helps you make appropriate goals, pushes in areas you need, and stop wasting time in areas that were not successful.

Get Started

Before you jump into the reflection sheet, you need to set the scene.

Step #1: Find the Time

I want you to find 30-60 minutes where you can be alone.

I know, I know, you’re already rolling your eyes.

But listen, there are 30-60 minutes you can MAKE in your day. We need to stop trying to FIND the time and create the time you need. Whether it means waking up early, staying up a little later, or skipping watching Parenthood on Netflix during nap time (I mean seriously… how good is Parenthood?)

Normally I am ALL about using those time pockets you have in between laundry, playing with the kids, or running errands but, for this activity, I want you to keep the time with no interruptions so that your thoughts can flow and not get stopped.

Step #2 Set the Environment

Find a place where you can think best. This is most likely not going to be any place where you can see the dishes that are piled up, want to get up and get snacks a few times, or can just stare at the dust bunnies that have piled up in your house.

I really recommend leaving your house if at all possible. See if you can get a sitter for one hour, a relative to hang with the kids, or sneak out to the Starbucks after the kids go to bed and your spouse is home.

Now if being out in public makes you to people watch and not be focused, then most definitely find a place in your home where you can snuggle on your favourite chair with some coffee and just write.

Step #3 Give Yourself Grace

Reflecting on the year can be tough if you didn’t hit some of the big goals you made for yourself. Give yourself to grace to know that you are ENOUGH no matter what and don’t beat yourself up. But, at the same time, be real with what happened.

Did you allow excuses to get in your way or was there a serious issue in your life this year that set you back? Did you get distracted by shiny objects or did your priorities change? Did you make and follow a plan or did you decide to fly by the seat of your pants?

Be honest with yourself, applaud any success (no matter HOW small!) and think about how things went so that you can better plan for next year!

Step #4 Get off the Technology

For this, I recommend PRINTING out the reflection sheets and use a pen and NOT your computer. There is power in writing things down, getting them out of your brain, and not having a million tabs on your computer distracting you.

Oh speaking of technology… no phones.

Put them out of sight and out of reach and ideally, in another room so that you can focus. If you like to work with music, put it on and then MOVE your phone OR put your phone on airplane mode so notifications don’t come in to distract you.

Step #5 Start to Reflect

Get your pretty pens ready, it’s time to think about your year!

Go through the sheet and really think about what happened this year. Try to not go in with the lens of what you want to accomplish next year but really be in the moment of these past 365 days.

If you need more space, use the blank pages as well! This reflection is going to be so helpful when you move to the next step of closing out the year and that’s vision and goal setting for your future! Download your sheet now!

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