A Year in Review

Jen here:

Diana did a great job last week of covering all the bases for developing a yearly plan, so I’ll just touch on one important thing before you plan your next year.

If you are on any productivity or leadership mailing lists at all, you’re probably being inundated with newsletters, webinars, and podcasts on how to set goals for the next year. And goal setting is really helpful. After all, how can you know where to put your efforts if you don’t know where you want to end up?

Review before setting goals

But I would like to suggest that there is a step before goal setting. I call it review. Before you sit down to set your goals, take a look at last year or last quarter.

• ·      What did you accomplish?
• ·      What didn’t you do that you would have liked to do?
• ·      What obstacles got in your way?

Here’s why it’s important to do this before setting goals again: life gets in the way and you need to adjust. Knowing why you didn’t make your goal can help you figure out what obstacles you need to overcome. Did you need more time, better tools, or just a different goal? Doing things the same old way will just lead to more failure.

And if you made your goal, what were the keys that helped you do it? How can you replicate that success?

I did this on a recent weekend trip out of town for a family wedding. I looked back at last year and was amazed at how my priorities had shifted over the year. My goals for next year look very different. And that’s great. And I bet yours have changed too. Take some time to review before setting goals and you’ll up your odds of success.

Press on!

Jennifer's latest books~ Coming Home A strong- willed young woman must discover her brother’s killer before she’s the next victim. The prequel, Be Mine, is also available. Can a simple thank you note turn into something more? Get the first chapter of Coming Home by signing up at www.JenniferVanderklipp.com