In the midst of the holiday rush, we realize it’s December already, and that can lead us to the question, “What did I even do this year?”
Assessing our growth as we are faced with the last page of the calendar shouldn’t be limited to our annual performance evaluations. To accurately measure how far we’ve come in the last 12 months, we need to take a deeper dive into where we started and where we want to go.
Pause / Rewind / Fast Forward
Start by asking questions, both the obvious ones and some different ones that help us achieve more meaningful introspection. In the Harvard Business Review article How to Create Your Own “Year in Review”, Helen Tupper and Sarah Ellis challenge us to ask questions about our present, past, and future. While they are all wonderful and insightful, here are a few of my favorites (and why I love them):
· When have I learned the most this year?
A very different question from the typical “What did I learn this year?”
· How have my strengths helped me succeed?
Drilling down into the things that make us who we are to truly understand their value.
· What confidence gremlins (i.e., beliefs that hold you back) have gotten in your way?
Drilling down into the things that trip us up so we can practice stepping over them.
· What’s the most useful thing you’ve read, watched, or listened to over the year?
Keep those kinds of things front of mind! And seek out more of them!
· One way I will support someone else:
A reminder that it’s not all about us. If we neglect helping others as part of our self-improvement journey, we limit ourselves. Lifting up one another helps everyone grow – often in ways we cannot grow on our own.
Our answers to thought-provoking questions like these lay the groundwork for us to build upon in the coming year.
There’s also methodology for deeper dives into the past, present, and future as an organization. To delve into the benefits of how “revisiting your founding ideals can help sharpen your purpose and values” as a company, read the case studies in this Harvard Business Review article by Ranjay Gulati:
To See the Way Forward, Look Back
Proof of Growth
If performance reviews are a snapshot of our growth journey, Dickie Bush’s Proof of Growth Prompt is a panorama. This “yearly review” takes stock of our goals across all areas of our lives.
Start by identifying the major areas of your life that you want to measure (e.g. health, finances, relationships, experiences, and business). Then, break down each area into the metrics for measurement.
For instance, under “Health,” Bush’s metrics include sleep, exercise, nutritional habits, and meditation practice. When he looks at each category in the metric, he is able to produce “tangible evidence” of his growth and “confront the truth” about where he has progressed and where he wants to improve.
Let’s say one of our areas is wellbeing (and we’ll focus on work-life balance as a subcategory); this could break down into metrics and targets for the next year like so:
· Sleep – Did you get 8 hours a night on average this year? Or was it more like 5 or 6? What is your ideal? Do you want to try for at least 7?
· Movement – Do you work at a desk? Do you get up to move around or stretch? How often? Would you physically and mentally benefit from making an effort to incorporate more movement? Maybe you could try 7 Great Yoga Stretches You Can Do at Your Desk (article with visuals) or the 5-Minute Break - Office Yoga (video)?
· Time Off – Did you take time off for vacation? Or to recharge when you were feeling rundown? To recover when you were sick? Did the time you took off, or didn’t take off, work for you? If not, what can you change?
For every one of our metrics, we can ask ourselves:
· Am I doing this more or less than last year?
· Do I want to do this more or less next year?
· Where can I make adjustments to meet my targets?
Note the words “my targets.” These are our goals, set by us, for us, and we are the only ones who can truly evaluate or re-evaluate them – and if we need to re-assess mid-year, we can. There is a lot of power and freedom in owning these goals. We should hold ourselves accountable for meeting them while giving ourselves grace when we fall short of them.
Brag About It
In our professional lives, where we are accountable to our leaders and our teams, our goals usually tie into corporate metrics, such as sales targets or marketing strategies. So, we might assume that our efforts are noticed and will be recognized. In reality, our work is not always visible to others. We often struggle to remember even our own accomplishments.
So, write them down! This blog article by Julie Evans offers an effective and morale-boosting solution: Get your work recognized: write a brag document. She even provides a template! She also recommends sharing it with your leaders to bring attention to the things you are proud of in your work.
A brag document can also be very self-affirming. At times where you may feel overly critical of yourself (if you’ve fallen behind, you’ve made a mistake, or you’re having a bad day), you can look back at this brag document and be reminded that you have done – and can do – great things. You can update it as often as you want, and watch those accomplishments add up.
Reverse Your Bucket List
You can create a list of all of your accomplishments – personal and professional – to understand just how awesome you are and how amazing your life has been so far. While a “bucket list” consists of things you want to do, a “reverse bucket list” consists of things you have done – big and small. Anna Meyer provides guidance and resources for creating one in this article:
Want to Feel More Fulfilled? Try Writing a 'Reverse Bucket List' | Shine
Imagine: a list of places you’ve been, experiences you’ve had, meaningful milestones, memorable moments, achievements of all kinds and sizes. All checked off! Reviewing this list can be a nostalgic stroll through your greatest hits. When you feel like your progress has stalled and life feels static, you can remind yourself how far you’ve come, how many goals you’ve already achieved, and how rewarding your unique journey has been.
As an example, here are a few items I came up with for my reverse bucket list:
· I took country dancing lessons.
· I adopted a tripod (three-legged) dog who was my first family member in San Antonio.
· I spent a month traveling Europe with my best friend.
· I've written blog articles for SMPS San Antonio.
Looking at each of those items fills me with pride and warm, happy memories.
When you see how much you’ve already done, it serves as fuel and inspiration to imagine what you can do going forward. Writing a reverse bucket list could inspire you to rewrite your bucket list.
Thinking Big Picture
And if you want to think big and create larger life goals, here are a few links that could help you zoom out for perspective on both long- and short-term goals:
5 steps to designing the life you want | Bill Burnett | TEDxStanford
You Need to Practice Being Your Future Self | Peter Bregman | Harvard Business Review
A 7 Step Plan For Personal And Professional Growth And Development | Ashira Prossack | Forbes
Writing your own year in review should be about understanding your value and recognizing your potential. When you take time to examine your growth through structured methodology, you’ll probably discover you made more progress and have more aspirations than you expected. Whatever works for you, take the time to let yourself shine!
By: Mary Hazlett, Tetra Tech
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