How to Calmly Wrap Up Your Year and Plan for the Year Ahead
Welcome to the end of the year! The time of year that tends to go by way too fast. It seems like the holiday rush starts earlier now at Halloween and speeds right on through the new year. The calendar suddenly fills with school functions, community events, volunteer opportunities, family gatherings, happy hours with friends, and business networking events.
When you aren’t out, you are busy cooking and baking, decorating, gift-buying, prepping for special traditions, cleaning, planning winter break activities, and working through your never-ending to-do list. Mix in the inevitable cold or flu and POOF, the year is done.
In all of that hustle and bustle it can be hard to build in time to wrap up your year and plan ahead, but not doing so can add to the chaos.
Here are some ideas on how to calmly wrap up your year and plan ahead.
Reflection
One of the first steps I take in my year-end wrap-up is to reflect upon everything that happened during the year, professionally and personally. I have done this now for years and it has helped me to slow down and stay grounded during the busy holiday season. It can be so easy to forget the little moments of joy, cool experiences, challenges that were overcome, and steps taken toward our goals as we end the year and look ahead. Even with the tough moments that are included, I can celebrate and find comfort in seeing how the year truly played out.
The process is simple. I start by going through my calendar, iPhone photos, journal, and emails to remind me of all the activities and experiences that I may have forgotten about. I keep it simple by writing down two columns (personal and professional), then adding bullet points to note everything that happened within each category. Once I have my bullet points laid out, I like to highlight the things I’d like to see more of for the new year; family travel, creative expression, new partnerships, etc. I then sit quietly with a grateful heart thinking through all that was and visualizing all that will be. Afterward, I have a sense of peace and clarity.
The Books
This is a good time to make sure your financials are all squared away as well. If you are working with an accountant that is great, but many small businesses are doing this part on their own. It’s a good time to balance those books and review all expenses from the year. Are all of your receipts accounted for? Did all of these expenses make sense for your business? Decide if there are any that don’t make sense to carry into the new year. Look at your budget and return on investment to see what worked and what didn’t. This will help with creating your budgets for next year and will certainly make tax season right around the corner much easier.
Creating a Plan
It’s important to have a vision of how the year ahead will play out for you on a personal and professional level. Having a plan in place to execute that vision will help you remain focused on specific goals, will give you clarity on what needs to be done, and will ensure that opportunities and budgets are maximized. Ideally, you would have a full strategic breakdown of what you want to accomplish annually and by quarter, but that is not always feasible this time of year.
Try not to put so much pressure on having all the details laid out by the end of the year if you aren’t able to. You don’t want to end up with analysis paralysis and not put anything together. Even if you only have an overview of your goals and a topline idea of budgets, that is going to help bring you a lot of clarity and direction once the new year hits and you’ll have a good place to work from.
I try to get to a place where I can jump right in once I am back from the holiday break. I get my calendar set up for the year with events I already know are in place, block off vacation and office hours, and create specific calendar times for self-care or creative days. I also think through ways to make my life calmer and my work more efficient. From there I add specific goals I’d like to reach and bullets on how I plan to get there. I try to include annual and quarterly budget breakdowns at this stage as well.
Clean Slate
I like to end my year with a clean slate when I can. I always take time off work when my kids are off school and have found that I am most present with them when my work projects and planning are wrapped up before I turn on my out-of-office notification. If you are able to wrap up client and internal projects before the holidays, it will give you the freedom to enjoy your time with loved ones and feel ready once the new year hits.
This time of year is no doubt a busy one! It’s also a perfect time to reflect, prioritize, and celebrate. If you can block off some time to wrap up the year and plan ahead, you will certainly have a weight lifted off your shoulders so you can remain present and excited about all that is to come.
