I love this time of year! Not just because it’s the holiday season, but because I use December as a time of review and reflection. I look back at my accomplishments and on my failures. Hopefully, the former are greater than the latter. I also use December as a time for thinking about what I want to accomplish in the year ahead.
For some, including me, 2009 was a year for tightening our budgets and scaling back on some of the things we wanted to do. For others, it was a year highlighted by growth and accomplishment.
While we can’t get those months, weeks and days back, we can review, reflect, learn and grow. As a friend of mine used to say: “We can’t unscramble the egg, but we can make a heck of an omelet!”
So let’s do a review of 2009. Let’s reflect on what worked, what didn’t work, what we did well and what we didn’t do well. Hang in there, it isn’t as painful as you might think and remember, we can learn as much from what didn’t work as from what did. There is real power in self- evaluation.
My recommendation is that you treat this year-end review much like you would any other important appointment. Schedule an hour or so when you can find a quiet place, with pen or laptop in hand, and allow yourself to think through the questions I’ve listed below.
Start by looking back on all those things you wanted to accomplish in 2010. Did you hit your financial goals? Did you acquire that degree or certification you needed? Did you acquire new friends? Were you able to strengthen or develop important relationships? Did you make better use of your time? Did you improve your health? Did you spend as much time with your family as you intended to?
Everything counts. Don’t sell yourself short on the things you were able to accomplish. It’s those little victories that create the momentum we need for continued success. But we also learn a great deal from the things that didn’t work so well.
I know this might seem daunting but it really isn’t. The value of self-reflection far outweighs the time you’ll put into the exercise.
There is no substitute for keeping score. The old saying “If you can’t measure it, you can’t manage it,” is as true today as it ever was. Reflect on what did work this past year and what didn’t. Be perfectly honest with yourself on both sides of the ledger. Identifying the reasons behind the success and the failure is key to continuing productive behaviors and ending destructive ones.
In the next edition of “Getting More With Les,” we start the process of putting together a performance improvement plan for 2010. Once we’ve identified those things we want to continue, improve or finish, we’ll put build a plan to make it happen.
We have much more control of our lives and circumstances that we give ourselves credit for. Let’s work together to make 2010 the best year yet, by planning what we want to accomplish – then by working our plan.
Tags: 2009, accomplish, budgets, improvement, performance, plan, reflection, review
