Conduct a Year-End Review to Lighten Your Mental Load Ahead of the New Year

You may conduct a year-end review in your business to help you understand what worked, what didn’t, and how to improve. However, when was the last time you conducted a similar review for yourself and your personal work habits?

Unhelpful thoughts and ineffective ways of working have the power to dramatically impact your overall productivity levels. As a productivity coach, I help people transform their relationship with productivity. Hustling and grinding in your work, day in and day out, will get you only so far. The good news is that you can still get things done if you work consistently and sustainably over the long term.  

If you’ve been meaning to develop more productive habits in your business life and your personal life, then it’s time to make a fresh start. Follow this framework to lighten your mental load and start the new year off with more helpful mindsets and ways of working.  

Embrace ordinary workdays.  

A year-end review typically highlights major accomplishments. However, for this exercise, you’re going to embrace several random days of the year. Open your digital calendar or paper planner for the past year and choose one random weekday in the period from January, February, March, and April. Do the same for May, June, July, and August. And for September, October, November, and December.  

Why pick three random days? They’re more likely to represent an average day. Now, review what’s listed on each of the three days. It’s totally fine if one day is packed with events or completely blank. This is all useful information. 

Resolve any resentment. 

Notice what memories and thoughts pop up in your mind for each of the three days. Did you turn in a client project late? Have an exhausting day that was back-to-back with pointless meetings? Maybe one of those days represented a vacation day when you ended up working, instead of relaxing with your family.  

What unhelpful thought might you have unwittingly had over the past few months? Some examples, “I don’t complete projects on time,” “I’m swamped by meetings,” or “I rarely have time for my family.” You’re now going to fully acknowledge these statements.