As we near the end of the year, it’s time to do a year-end review. Here are some practical steps to navigate this annual ritual for a more intentional and successful year ahead.
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TRANSCRIPT
As the year comes to a close, many people find themselves caught up in the hustle and bustle of the holiday season. However, for those who follow the GTD Getting Things Done methodology the end of the year is a time for a comprehensive review, a time to reflect on accomplishments, setbacks, and lessons learned. Hi, I’m Dave Edwards, here’s a step by step guide to conducting a thorough review using the GTD approach. Firstly, you should block out a whole day for this entire project, it’s gonna require some reflection on your part. To delve deep into the past year, you want to set aside that day on your calendar so that you don’t get interrupted by meetings or other things. Choose a day preferably, I don’t know a quiet set Saturday or Sunday and make it clear to others that you’re off limits for the day. This will create a sacred space for undisturbed introspection.
If you keep a journal, you want to revisit it. If you don’t have a journal at least take a look at your calendar. Begin by revisiting your journal or calendar. detailed account of your thoughts, experiences and activities throughout the year will be buried inside. Set aside a couple of hours to immerse yourself and the narrative and reminisce about the highs and lows of the past months. extract key insights simultaneously use a separate notebook or sheets of paper to jot down notes and highlight significant moments or realizations as you go through your calendar or your journal. This process helps identify patterns and areas that require attention during this review. Acknowledge your failures. I mean, after your review, take by 15 minutes to glance at your failures list. Acknowledge the areas where you fell short and jot down any additional reflections that you surface. You want to reflect on those failures. Now write down your thoughts as to why those failures occurred and what measures can be taken to avoid similar pitfalls in the future. This exercise will promote self awareness and proactive problem solving. You also want to celebrate your accomplishments. Now next spend I don’t know about 15 minutes revisiting your accomplishment list. celebrate the victories big and small that occurred during the year and you want to extract lessons from your success. Similar to failure document your reflections on why certain accomplishments were achieved. Extract lessons that can be applied to future activities, fostering a continuous cycle of improvement. It’s a good idea to summarize your year. reread all your notes taken during the day, and distill the essence of your year into a couple of words. This concise summary encapsulates the overarching theme or sentiment that defined the past year. You’ll also want to answer some critical questions. So here’s a list of questions that might help you get deeper with your introspection. What went well, what didn’t go well? Why did these events occur? What can be done to prevent setbacks in the future, lessons, learn from successes, strategies for ongoing success, what the stop, keep or start doing, and then there’s that one or two words to summarize the year. Next, you want to move to a strategic planning process for the future. Once the personal reflection is complete, turn your attention to future planning. Assess your someday may be projects reveal your higher level horizons or areas of focus, analyze time allocation, and reassess the value of recurring meetings and take a look at calendar scheduling for priorities and family time. Lastly, you want to optimize your GTD system. Archive completed projects review would update remaining projects, clear your mind of any lingering tasks or ideas and evaluate if your current system is meeting your planning needs. A GTD inspired year end review is a powerful tool for personal and professional growth. by dedicating some time to reflect on the past. Learn from those experiences and strategically plan for your future. You can navigate the coming year with clarity, purpose and renewed sense of direction. Happy New Year. I’m Dave Edwards
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