Brain Food #699
Conducting an annual review for oneself
Thoughts of the day
Happy 2022, and thank you for being here for another year. I often think to myself, ‘I still haven’t written the book I’ve always wanted to write’, but perhaps this is it, and you are here to witness it, sometimes to unknowingly push me through it.
At the turn of every year, which feels like a transition period, somewhere between past and future, between facts and potential, I like to conduct an annual review for myself, an exercise in remembering, appreciating, and learning.
And so, for the first post of this year’s Brain Food, I would like to share two of my templates with you:
My detailed 2021 end-of-year retrospective template, which focuses on professional growth
My 2021: A Year in Review template, which focuses on life as a whole
The purpose of both is explained in more detail in this Medium post. I hope you find them useful, and that they help turn the memories and experiences of 2021 into fuel that can power your 2022 adventures and desires.
“Why did I write it down? In order to remember, of course, but exactly what was it I wanted to remember? How much of it actually happened? Did any of it?”
— Joan Didion
An annual review becomes a method to remember who we were, and who we are. To be kind to ourselves, but also honest. To celebrate achievements, and to acknowledge where we could have done better.
Thank you for reading today’s Brain Food. Brain Food is a short daily newsletter that aims to make you think every day, without taking up too much of your time. If you know someone who would like it, why not forward it to them? Brain Food is, after all, alive thanks to you, its readers.