My End-of-Year Journaling Ritual

Around this time of year I’m excitedly looking forward to the holiday season but I am also looking back on the year. Measuring my progress, looking back on my goals and what I’ve achieved. What I’ve learnt and what I could be better at. This is also a wonderful time of year to look back on the unexpectedly pleasant or happy things that have happened. Things we didn’t plan for but ended up happening anyway. Looking back on this particular aspect of my year helps be to believe in the magic of life and helps me to keep my faith in the future.

Today I’m going to share with you a few prompts that I like to journal with towards the end of the year as well as a few fun goal setting prompts to help you get ready for the new year.

 I usually take a slim notebook to keep this journalling in. You could also choose to do this exercise on your computer or loose sheets of paper that you staple or file away. I like to hold on to these thoughts because I like looking back on them so I do make the extra effort to make things look pretty.

 If I have some pictures from the year I want to add to my journalling or ephemera from a trip or even fun stickers, I always do that. It helps me to add another dimension of memory to my journaling. You can choose to just go with pen and paper or use some extra fun things along the way.

The way I structure this end-of-year journaling is as follows.

1. I look back on the year. What I wanted and what I was able to do. I like to make a list of all the unexpected things as well. The good and the bad. Sometimes we need to give ourselves some grace because life happens when we’re busy making plans and all does not go according to plan. So instead of writing down just what I envisioned I would be able to do and see I’ve fallen short in some areas I make sure to include the extra things that took time and energy.

2.  Then I look at where I am now and how I’m feeling. What things if any I feel I want to let go of. Sometimes we grow out of certain goals and ambitions and that’s ok. Life is all about growth. Leave what you’ve grown out of behind you as you plan for the new year.

3.  Next I envision what I would like my next year to look like. I make a list of things I want to achieve and things I want to learn and experience. Lately, I’ve started being mindful of keeping a balance between work and self-care. It’s been a hard few years for me health wise and I feel I usually over-commit on work and don’t take care of myself as much. These are the sort of things you will learn about yourself as you journal. Another habit of mine is to underestimate the time it takes to do things and so this year I’m going to be mindful of that too.

4.  In the end I create a wheel of what I want to do. My wheel is divided as shown below. I list my non-negotiables and then make a list of good to-haves. I use the 12-week year planning system - stay tuned for a video on that and follow me on YT.

And that’s all. I break down my goals more while I’m planning each 12 week year.

You can use the process above to journal for your end-of-year planning or follow these prompts.

1.    How would you describe your year in one sentence?

2.    What goals did you achieve this year?

3.    How many of these goals were on your list for the year and how many were happy surprises?

4.    What obstacles did you overcome this year? Did they take away from the time you thought you would have?

5.   How are you feeling right now after looking back at the last year?

6.   What goals or action items do you think you’ve grown out of and want to let go of?

7.   What are your main goals for the next year in each of the following categories: Work, Family and Relationships, Passion Projects, Home and Environment, Finance, Health, Learning

8.      Look over your goals. Have you overcommitted? Are you sure this is all doable in one year? Make a list of your non-negotiables and label these your main goals and list the rest as secondary goals.

How do you feel after this exercise? I usually feel light and excited about the coming year.

I’ve included some pictures of my journals from over the years. I use everything from words to pictures from magazines, storybooks and all manner of art supplies to do my journaling. That’s what works for me and I thought I would share some of my pages if you would like to give this style a go. But there have been years when I’ve just felt like writing and if that is what you want that is what you should do.

The idea is to recap some of what happened and clear your head and then set a course for the New Year.

I really hope this end-of-year journaling ritual helps you as much as it helps me!

Hugs!

MZ