Doing A Year-End Review

How I Review My Year

Things you’ll need:

• The crappiest notebook or the simplest note-taking app you have

• Time - set aside a time that is doable - 5, 15, 30, or 60 minutes - if you’re not sure which to choose - start with 10 minutes.

“Jay… why the crappy notebook?”

Because NICE notebooks always seem to require profound words to be written in them and you won’t write in one unless what you have to say is profound - so do yourself a favor - get a cheap notebook.

STEP 1: Recalling…

Open it up and write this question: What has gone well this year?

Get the easy stuff out of the way - the things that naturally pop into your mind and write them down.

If important - write how that event made you feel and why you think it might have made you feel that way.

Then I just go back… November 2022… linger there a bit… And write down the things that come to mind that went well.

December 2022… same thing… And so on…

Sometimes I struggle to come up with things, so I try a different tactic - “What bad thing didn’t happen that I thought might happen… but didn’t” - in case you’re wondering those are things that went well 😄 

Don’t force the time - if you feel like you’re done - just be done for now and come back to it when you’re ready.

When your list is done, it’s ok to spend some time thanking God for these.

STEP 2: Revisiting…

On a new page, write this question: What didn’t go so well this year?

• Same thing with this exercise…

• get the easy stuff out of the way

• then go through the months - again take your time

• you can include both things you did and that happened to you

• include how you feel if important

• take a break when you need it - seriously, no need to push through this

When you’re done, it might be helpful to spend some time confessing the shortcomings of this year.

And opening up your hands in prayer to God in letting go of the things that happened to you - forgiving others and yourself where needed.

Now take a break - you’ll need the mental clarity for the next step.

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STEP 3: Learning…

Again, open to a new page, writing this question: What could I do differently?

To be honest, this is likely the toughest part.

It’s looking at our shortcomings with honesty and humility…

• what could I have done differently

• how could I have responded differently

• who could I have talked to that I didn’t

• what did I misunderstand about God

• how could I have thought differently

You might not be able to do your entire list from step 2, so I often pick ones that might cover others with similar themes.

Do as many as seems doable.

Then decide whether you want to do more at another time.

When you’re done, repenting is likely the order here - this is not beating yourself up.

Confession works like this - God I did this thing that is wrong because it is wrong in your eyes and I’ve missed the target you set up.

Repenting is getting up, letting God dust you off, and committing to doing something differently from here on out in His strength.

When you fail - confess, get up, and commit again - tbh, we make it harder than it really is…

Final Thoughts…

Now keep that notebook around - there is more to come in the next few weeks - so trust me - these steps will help you walk into 2024 with confidence, focus, and determination.

I am seriously looking forward to hearing about how God worked in your life in the next 12 months, and to be honest, mine too…

To wrap it up - there are 3 steps I use to review my year

1. Recollect - think about what went well and thank God for it. It is easy for us to forget the progress we made and how the Lord has been faithful

2. Revisit - think about the things that did not go as well as we hoped. Thankfully we have a God who is in the business of redeeming that which was lost.

3. Learn - think about what could have been done differently. This is the most important step - it forms a habit of repentance - changing your mind and setting up right actions.

Check back in the coming weeks for more on Leaning Into Your Calling in 2024!