How (and why) you should give yourself a year-end review

Companies like Adobe and GE are doing away with year-end performance reviews, providing frequent feedback instead to boost engagement and productivity. Taking time to examine the past entire year in its entirety, however, is still a valuable exercise—and it’s one you can and should do for yourself.

“If we don’t look back, how do we move forward?” asks impact coach Katie Sandler. “This is the time of year when people look forward and decide what their resolutions are going to be. Whether they realize it or not, creating those resolutions comes from taking inventory of what they have been doing. As you move into 2020, it’s important to first look back.”

A self-directed year-end review can be done in a few different ways, says Sandler. You can break down your year in quarters, review past goals, or review the main areas of your life, such as career, finances, health, personal development, and relationships.

Once you’ve broken down the year, Sandler suggests asking yourself five main questions:

The answers to these questions will help you set goals for the coming year. Make sure your plan of action has a way to measure your progress, says Sandler. “Set smart goals,” she says. “And leave space for the unknown. It’s okay to move into 2020 not knowing the answer to everything.”

One mistake people make when reviewing the year is only focusing on what they want to improve instead of also celebrating their accomplishments, says Laura Juarez, author of Ignite Your Impact: A Field Guide to Embody Your Potential.

“It drains our energy to focus on where we derailed and try to course-correct, putting us in a compromised mental state of doubt and fear of failure,” she says. “And it assumes that it is all about result versus impact.”

Source: Fastcompany.com

Powered by NewsAPI.org

Keywords:

Adobe Systems • Feedback • Productivity improving technologies • Don't Look Back (The Temptations song) • Goal • Life • Personal development • Energy •