Issue 142 – December 2024
It’s a wrap for 2024
Whatever happens in the transition between years, remember to be kind to yourself. The Dunker freelancer magazine suggests you try being the “should” police.
Are you ending 2024 with multiple “year in review” reports from the various apps you use?
You can get a summary of the songs and artists you listened to through Spotify Wrapped. You can track the books you read through Goodreads. If you play Word with Friends, you can find out how many moves you played, points scored, longest word and best scoring word. (If you’re curious, mine was “azure,” for 107 points.)
When it comes to a corporate job, you probably have a formal performance review every year. For those of us with our own businesses, we have to create our own. Here’s why you should and how you might do it.
For 13 years, coach Eileen Chadnick has suggested 12 questions to help people wrap up one year and get ready for the next. First, she prompts you to look at the past year. What went well? How have you grown? What needs to stay around for another year and what needs to go? Then, look at the year ahead. What do you want for the year? How will you stay positive? Where do you need to slow down?
Chris Guillebeau of A Year of Mental Health likewise suggests an annual review as a December ritual. The core principle is that “we tend to overestimate what we can accomplish in a day, but drastically underestimate what we can achieve in a year.” The review looks back at what did and didn’t go well, and looks forward to pair specific goals with concrete actions to get there, like “Read 52 books.”
Reflecting and setting SMART goals – Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant and Time-bound – are also part of Staffbase’s process to help the communicators it supports prepare for a new year. It also suggests decluttering and organizing (clear out inboxes, archive files, tidy up workflows) and taking care of yourself to “make time to recharge and start the year energized.”
Austin L. Church of Freelance Cake aims for what he calls “December Zero.” He says it leaves you with a small number of action items you can tackle from the start of the month to whenever you’ll be out of office. December Zero starts with making a list of loose ends that need to be tied up before the end of the year. You ask yourself "What must be true in order to end the year well?" Define the next step for each loose end. Then notice what you can defer, delete or delegate. Cut unnecessary tasks and projects from your list. Ask, “Can someone else do this instead of me?”
My own yearly review is based on a document updated throughout the year to include standout moments as they happen. It also includes financials, the balance of my clients and where they come from, numbers like newsletter subscribers and open rates, and a look at personal stats like how many books I read (61 this year!).
Whatever happens in the transition between years, remember to be kind to yourself. The Dunker freelancer magazine suggests you try being the “should” police. Notice when the word “should” pops into your head – “I should be working,” “I should be making the most of my time off,” “I should be...” – and respond with “Why should I?”
Let me know if you conduct your own year in review! As always, thank you for letting Wordnerdery into your in-box in 2024. I wish you all the best in 2025.
Related reading:
IABC on demystifying SMART goals
The rise of Spotify Wrapped and its copycats
In the Red Jacket Diaries:
More on SMART goals in “Switch your thinking to keep New Year’s resolutions on track”
The latest winner in the quirky contest for wordplay lovers
© Copyright 2024 Get It Write. All rights reserved. She/her. Find me online at GetItWrite.ca, connect with me on LinkedIn or follow me on X (I’m still there; are you?). And why not subscribe to Wordnerdery?