The Review That Actually Helps: Looking Back to Move Forward

A new year begins. Before charging forward, look back. Not with judgment—with curiosity.

What actually happened last year? What did you learn? What do you want to carry forward, and what do you want to leave behind?

The Point of Review

Most people skip real reflection. "Last year was whatever. Here's what I want this year." Then they make the same mistakes because they never examined the previous attempt.

A good annual review surfaces patterns. You discover what actually works for you versus what sounds good in theory. You notice recurring problems that need real solutions, not just renewed intentions.

Questions Worth Answering

Spend 30-60 minutes with these. Write your answers—thinking alone isn't enough.

The Overview:

• What were the major events/changes of the year?
• What are you most proud of?
• What are you most grateful for?
• What was harder than expected?

The Patterns:

• What kept coming up, for better or worse?
• What did you keep saying you'd do but didn't?
• What did you do even though you "didn't have time"?
• Where did you repeatedly make the same mistake?

The Decisions:

• What was your best decision this year? Why?
• What was your worst decision this year? What would you do differently?
• What decision are you still avoiding?

The Lessons:

• What did you learn about yourself?
• What do you know now that you didn't know a year ago?
• What advice would you give yourself at the start of last year?

Looking Forward:

• What do you want more of next year?
• What do you want less of?
• What's one thing that, if it changed, would make everything else easier?

What to Do With the Answers

The point isn't just to have answers. It's to translate them into action.

From your patterns, extract one or two things to actually change. Not everything—just the highest-leverage shifts.

From your lessons, identify guardrails. "I now know X about myself, so I will Y."

From your avoided decisions, set a deadline. "I will decide about Z by February."

Don't Over-Engineer This

You can find elaborate annual review templates with dozens of questions. These are fine if you enjoy them, but complexity isn't the goal. Insight is.

Simple questions, honestly answered, beat complex frameworks filled out superficially.

The most important thing is that you do it at all. Any reflection beats no reflection.

The Kindness Piece

As you review, be kind to yourself. You probably didn't accomplish everything you wanted. You probably made some mistakes. That's called being human.

The point of review isn't to catalog failures. It's to learn from experience so next year is slightly better than the last.

Celebrate what worked. Learn from what didn't. Let go of what you're carrying.

Then look forward.