<aside> 💭 One of my favorite things about the dawn of the year is taking time to slow down and reflect on how life has played out over the last 365 days. In 2020, I kindled a daily journaling practice and spent December reading through all my entries, revisiting moments that had since escaped me.
As I read the entries consecutively, themes emerged and I began connecting strands of ideas and feelings in ways I couldn’t have connected day to day. I took notes as I went and ended with 5 pages of messy notes that set the foundation for what’s become my annual recalibration ritual.
Every December, I carve out ~1 week to relive the year, looking back to prep forward. Completing an annual review has given me the space to zoom out and take a bird’s eye view of the full year rather than defaulting to recency bias as I set intentions for the new year. It’s my way of finding my way back to myself and taking a moment to tune into the person I want to become, not what society expects me to become.
In this piece, I’ll share how I run my process. Hope it’s helpful as you design a reflection process that brings you joy.
If you have questions along the way, feel free to DM me at @cissyrxhu.
If you’re looking for more inspiration, I’ve linked a collection of my favorite templates below.
— Cissy Hu (@cissyrxhu)
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😌 Adopt a process & set of questions that bring you joy
This process gives you a portal to step back to moments that made up your year and who you’ve become
—> Refine this process in a way that serves you
⏳ Make time to reflect and create space for it to marinate
Block chunks of deep work time to complete the review
—> Allocate 1-2 weeks
🍵 Create an environment where you can free yourself from the day to day
Change up your surroundings to give your mind the space to flow freely
—> Visit your favorite coffeeshop or travel to a new location
👯♀️ Find a partner to reflect with
Build in accountability with a trusted other to introspect together
—> Carve out time to share your reflections with one another
<aside> <img src="https://img.icons8.com/ios/512/1-circle.png" alt="https://img.icons8.com/ios/512/1-circle.png" width="40px" /> Excavating is all about collecting your memories, experiences, ideas, and feelings throughout 2022 and putting the puzzle pieces together to build a complete view of the year.
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[ ] Journal entries
[ ] Weekly & monthly reviews
[ ] Health logs
[ ] Calendar
[ ] Photos
[ ] Social posts (Twitter, Instagram)
Categorize your artifacts by month into this list
| Moments • Experiences • Milestones | |
|---|---|
| January | • |
| • | |
| February | • |
| • | |
| March | • |
| • | |
| April | • |
| • | |
| May | • |
| • | |
| June | • |
| • | |
| July | • |
| • | |
| August | • |
| • | |
| September | • |
| • | |
| October | • |
| • | |
| November | • |
| • | |
| December | • |
| • |
