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This week let’s talk about new year’s resolutions and some realistic reflections. Now I know what you’re thinking, “aren’t we already done with all this new year BS?” Well, we’re almost there, bear with me for one more. See most of the time you’ll see such things close to new year’s eve and a day or two afterward. Videos and posts about reflections and goals and how everyone has gotten their lists ready and started ticking them, come Jan 1st. This hasn’t sat well with me the past years, and until recently till I have found my own rhythm, and I encourage you to find yours.
How do you ask? I’m happy to rant on! But first, let me just clear one thing up, regardless of those videos and compilations of what a wonderful or full of achievements 2021 has been or how some people “made the best of it” or any other year basically, 2021 has been a hard year for some people and that’s completely understandable and ok. You don’t have to look for a silver lining, because some years or moments in life just don’t have them. So if that was your year, I’m grateful you’ve survived it and I wish you happier ones to come. Let’s leave this fake happiness and silver lining in everything back in 2019, cause let’s be real no one has the energy for that after 2020.
Now, what do I mean by finding your own rhythm? Well, this may come as a shock but not everyone gets holidays around Christmas and new year. Depending on where you live you could be just getting one day each, or one day total for the previously mentioned. So not truly a time of rest and reflection, you see what I mean? I for one, I’m part of the Miserables involved in year-end closing activities (if you don’t know what that is, google it and don’t blame me). Now I know what you think, she might be in finance, right? So here’s my public service announcement in case you didn’t know, supply chain teams (the majority of them) are bound by the same financial times as finance teams. I am part of a supply chain team and had no idea this was the case when I joined but I got used to the majority of it, except year-end madness, aka December. I used to love December now it’s just a month from hell meant to test your patience to the limit. (To be fair I am being dramatic but can you blame me after the 2 years we’ve had?) Especially December 2020 and December 2021 have been the worst among many that companies have seen due to Corona Virus effects still in play and macro events such as supply chain constraints. So what I’m trying to say is that Dec. was horrendous and the last thing I wanted to do was sit and reflect on that, so below is my realistic year-end prep:
- ask for time off once closing is done. See if you can’t take any vacations in Dec. try Jan and push for time off even if 2-3 days. I take burnout dead serious now and that vacations are a must rather than a luxury. I know holidays are a privilege though in case your industry is not a remote one, and maybe in this case you can swap shifts or days with a colleague in a way that provides you with some rest? (If not possible at all, please take care of your mental health to be able to keep going, and best of luck, or consider changing industries)
- enjoy time off without any productive plans, yes re-read that one. Decide whether for you that means alone time with your books and journals, or connection time with family and/or relatives. Do things that make you happy or just chill and watch your favorite shows, whatever it is please for the love of your wellbeing, don’t try to cram productivity into this
- once you’ve felt rested, relaxed, and refreshed, decide on which method you’d like to use to reflect on the year and plan for the next one. Then choose either a favorite pre-watched series, song, or an audiobook to accompany you to make the process less chore like (As it does get boring at some point). It doesn’t have to be a list of crazy goals and bucket lists, and below I’ve added the ones I’ve used. You can either focus on one, or mix and match whatever works for you that particular year. It can always change from one year to another. This reflection can happen in beginning of Jan or end of it or even the middle of the year, please don’t feel pressured to get things done in a day or few hours, it’s unrealistic and just makes the process super unenjoyable
- work on your reflections across different days, give yourself time to think deeply, what really matters to me this year? Rather than writing and committing to the first idea that comes to mind
- Once you’re done, keep those reflections somewhere you can come back to later, and you are done
The mixture of methods I’m using this year, and who are they written by so you can check directly their great work is added below. I’ve also added some examples from my own reflections, in case you need a prompt to get you started:
- Ali Abdal’s year review from 2020, which ideally can be done on notion. What I mainly liked about this review is, that having done it last year, I was able to easily and quickly go through it while preparing the review for this year. It was nice as well to be reminded of things I’ve forgotten about. You can also choose which parts of it to fill and which to ignore (as it’s a long list), and I even added my own few sections to it this time around (Link to Youtube video and template in the description: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ERGbgvvCJ8o&ab_channel=AliAbdaal)
- James Clear question “What is one lesson you learned (or relearned) this year?” (link to newsletter article: https://jamesclear.com/3-2-1/december-30-2021)
- For me the most important lesson from 2021, is to be kind to ourselves, and before we rush into saying we are, to truly reflect on our actions and whether they do show kindness or not towards ourselves and health. I’ve added a few more of those to my new journal, to be reminded of them throughout the year.
- Mark Manson’s question“ So, my question to you is: What skills do you want to develop this year?“ (link to newsletter article: https://markmanson.net/newsletters/mindfck-monthly-96)
- For me one of the main ones is saying no to junk food, and yes to boring but healthy home meals. Also, being proactive in my personal life (Rather than getting frustrated by undone or ignored things, to do them myself). Another one is becoming more consistent and disciplined in my writing
What’s important to remember also is the process and moving towards these aspirations throughout the year or none of this matters. For me, I realized what helps is communities, whether online or in person. They remind me to get on with my plans. Two of my favorites are the online book communities whether on TikTok or Youtube. Jessethereader has great videos that remind me to get back to reading, and the community of commenters posting about where they are in their reading journey and encouraging each other is one of the few wholesome spaces you’ll find online. Another is jackinthebooks, you laugh and discover new books. There’s also thisstoryaintover and her recent book club of reading in color, as in reading for more diverse authors and I love that.
The second is YesTheory and their seek discomfort community. I’m a fan of their content in general, but they do a genius thing on their Instagram for their community. They post prompts/games to get their followers to interact together and create bonds or even adventures, and it’s a diverse community that is bound by this one common theme seeking discomfort and growth.
That’s it for me, some reflections and a general direction and sense of what’s important for this year. What about you? How are your reflections and aspirations for this year going? Let me know in the comments as I love to hear from you all! Happy new year, and may the odds be ever in our favor (wink wink)!
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Disclaimer: None of this information is to be used as advice, it’s just for entertainment purposes. Additionally, all information used is publicly available.
Links:
YesTheory https://www.youtube.com/c/YesTheory
Jessethereader https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uPz5Rcml2Zs&ab_channel=jessethereader
jackinthebooks https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CN0SOi7m8PY&ab_channel=JackintheBooks
thisstoryaintover https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4vLtZRCfNuY&ab_channel=thisstoryaintover
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