How to do an Annual Review and Set Goals You Will Smash
There are just three steps you need to smash your annual goals:
Complete an annual review
Set the right goals
Keep your goals visible.
These steps are explained in more detail below.
Annual Review
Before setting goals, reflect on the current year; this reflection will inform your goal setting. Approach your review as a journalling activity; you can use pen and paper, a blank document on your computer, or dictate your responses to your mobile.
First, review your progress on any goals you set for this year.
After that, strategically review aspects of your life - consider these as your life categories. For example:
Health and fitness
Work and business
Friends and community
Personal life and family
Learning and knowledge
Travel and culture
Hobbies and creativity
Emotions and spirituality
Money and finance
Use the Ness Labs plus, minus, next method to review each life category. Spend three minutes on each category - one minute identifying what went well (plus), one minute on what didn’t (minus) and one minute on what your next steps could be (next).
Then reflect on:
your proudest accomplishments of the year and
your biggest challenges.
All of this information informs your goal setting.
Goal Setting
Now, set your goals.
Make your goals specific and realistic (but not easy - there should be some stretch). Ensure your goals are evidence-informed (the evidence being your annual review).
Try not to set too many goals - three to five is the sweet spot.
In his bestselling book, Atomic Habits, James Clear recommends focusing on systems rather than goals. He explains, “Goals are about the results you want to achieve. Systems are about the processes that lead to those results”. Once you have chosen your goals, break them into action steps and identify underpinning systems, processes, and resources you will need to achieve them.
Consider setting a word of the year (or a short phrase) to remind you of your top priority.
Visibility
Visibility is essential for achieving your goals - otherwise, you will forget them. One of the best ways to keep your goals visible is through a weekly review process. Reviewing your goals weekly keeps them at the top of your mind.
If you have chosen a word of the year, there are many ways to keep it visible. For example, you could create a digital wallpaper featuring your word for your mobile devices and computer or buy a piece of jewellery and engrave it with your word.
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