I am a quiet end-of-the-year kind of woman. I don’t love huge New Year’s celebrations because I’m tired from Christmas (all the cooking, cleaning, traveling, and company). While I love seeing my family, I prefer to spend New Year’s Eve and Day at home either in Virginia or Charleston. It’s a time for me to set up my planners and journals for the next year and to redo my vision board.

One of the things I’ve done the past few years is a more in-depth review of my year. Not just business stuff, but some personal stuff as well. The problem is that I often run out of time. So a few years ago I began doing my End of Year Review in mid-December. That way it’s done and out of the way before the holidays. And now that I have an LLC, I am supposed to have an annual meeting with notes to reflect on my entrepreneurial businesses and plan for the next year. So I do both at the same time.

If I can, I take an entire day (or sometimes a day and a night), and I go someplace quiet with my husband. Sometimes it’s our favorite pub in the Shendandoah Mountains, sometimes it’s a long hike with a homemade picnic dinner at the end, and during the pandemic I did it at home. In 2020 I made all of my favorite meals the day before and spent the day in front of my fire pit outside with a makeshift desk. It doesn’t matter how or where you do this. It’s just the act of doing it that can clear your mind, put the past to rest, and reset yourself for the upcoming year.

So what do I mean by End of the Year Ritual? It’s essentially a time set aside where you can think deeply and honestly about things. For some people, they need lots of noise and music to help them focus. They even go on a retreat with friends. Other people need complete solitude. Some others need an in-between space like working on their own in a crowded cafe. Then, once you’re settled in a comfortable space, you begin to ask yourself questions. (see below) They can be answered in a journal (my preference), or spoken aloud into a recorder, or not captured at all. Maybe you just want to think through your answers and will remember them as you plan for next year.

The primary point of this exercise is three-fold. First, to celebrate all you got done last year. Second, to put to rest those goals that didn’t get finished. Set them aside and forgive yourself, if necessary. It’s okay. You’re right where you need to be. Third, it’s to choose your goals and projects for next year. Maybe even the next five or ten years. So let’s get started:

Set the mood

Decide where you’re going to review your goals. If you stay home, you could light your favorite candle and drink your favorite tea. You could check into a small inn and work in the sitting room. Or you could take a hike and journal along the way. It doesn’t matter. Do what works best for you.

Reflect on the last year

This can be as simple as mentally reviewing your memories. Or you could journal about the year. Whichever you do, make sure to include the things you accomplished as well as those you didn’t. We have a tendency to focus on our failures instead of our successes, but in this exercise we want to focus on both. For work, review your business income, sales, and other specific goals. For personal, think about your relationships and other situations you worked on or are concerned about. This is a time to tie up loose ends, reflect on what went well, and feel good without putting pressure on yourself. One of the keys to success with this exercise is to tamp down the inner critic. Sometimes I bribe her (me) with a treat after the ritual is done like lunch with a friend or going to my favorite thrift shop.

Here are some questions to get you started:

  • What went well this year in business and in life?
  • What moments in my life do I want to remember from this year?
  • What lessons did I learn this year that I can carry into next year?
  • What do I want to see change in the next year?
  • What do I want to keep from the last year?
  • What am I grateful for right now?
  • What will I be grateful for this time next year?
  • What were some of the highlights of the past year?
  • What were some of the challenges from the past year?
  • What things did I have no control over? (I’m looking at you, pandemic!)

Write a future letter to yourself

I used to think this was a silly idea… until I started doing it. Now I realize it’s a powerful tool for positive self-reflection. If you wrote a letter to yourself last year, now is the time to read and reflect on it. Then write yourself a letter for next year. In this letter, I like to write down my dreams and hopes and visions for the year ahead. I also write down my intentions, as if I’m writing them into future existence. I end my letter with gratitude, usually a list of all I’m grateful for. Then I seal it in an envelope and put it away until next year’s ritual day.

Set intentions

Instead of resolutions, I prefer to set intentions. Intentions are purposeful. Intentions are about alignment with my future vision and goals as well as about discipline. I spend time in prayer and meditation in order to intuit the intentions I set for the next year. They are very personal and yours will look nothing like anyone else’s. In fact, I suggest you not share them with others. Keep them in your journal so you can review them throughout the year. I like to set one intention for each area of my life, and I write them in my journal. These are the areas I tend to focus on, but you can add your own and change mine. I like to have at least one intention per area, but sometimes I’ll have more in an area I need to work on.

Here is a list I use, in no particular order, to set my intentions.

  • Career/Business
  • Love Life/Marriage
  • Finances/Wealth
  • Family
  • Friends
  • Physical Environment
  • Fun/Recreation
  • Health & Fitness
  • Personal Development
  • Spiritual Development
  • Travel

Vision Board

I love working on my vision board throughout the year, but I especially love rebuilding it at the end of each year. While my bigger dreams still seem so far away, I’m always amazed at what smaller dreams did come true. Even those that came true in a different way than I expected. I used to build my vision board on poster board with magazine cutouts and tons of glue sticks, but now I choose and edit my photos on Canva and build myself a vision board presentation with PowerPoint. That way I can have different slides, one for each area of my life listed above. Working with a vision board helps align your intentions. And don’t be surprised if you change your intentions after doing vision board work. Sometime what you think you want or need is different than what you truly want or need. (I hope that makes sense!) When I sit down to do this, the first thing I do is review the past year’s board and journal about it. Then I build the next year’s board, also journaling about my choices. That way, as the years pass, I can read about and remember my previous intentions, and hopes, and dreams. It’s a great exercise in being flexible. While so many things on my boards have happened, many have not–and that’s okay. Building a vision board helps you visualize your future but also helps you let go of the things in your past that weren’t working for you. And it’s all okay!

Clean House & contact loved ones

My grandmother used to say that how you end the old year and begin a new year sets the tone for all the months in between. (Maybe it stems from the ancient Scottish New Year’s tradition of Hogmanay and First Footing. In Scotland, on New Year’s Day, people clean their houses to ward off bad luck. At midnight, people stand outside their homes in a circle, holding hands, and sing Auld Lang Syne. Then, after midnight, they invite neighbors to enter their clean home. The First Footer is the person who enters the home first on New Years Day who is supposed to be harbinger of good fortune.) Anyway, one of the things I was taught is to clean your house around the New Year. I know it’s hard with all the holidays (decorations, company, cooking, etc) but I love to spend the days between Christmas and New Year’s Eve cleaning up as much as I can (although I leave my Christmas decorations up until the Epiphany). Then, come New Year’s Day, I feel like I’m starting the year with clean house and clearer head. Once the house is clean, I light a candle and say a blessing over our home. The other thing I include in this section is making sure I connect with those I love. This is a good time of year to revise your contact lists birthday calendars and, if you send cards out, to buy them in advance. In January, I will set aside a day to purchase and address cards I know I’m going to send out all year long. Then, a week before the event, I’ll write out the card and mail it. (Yes, I still love to mail and receive cards!). I may also make a note in my planner of when I’m going to call certain people, or make lunch dates with my friends. If it’s on my calendar, I’m much more likely to remember.

End of the Year Rituals set you up for success.

They give you permission to set aside time to help you reflect on the past, offer gratitude for the present, and dream about the future. And I don’t know of any better way to both end one year and begin a new one. But the most important thing to remember is that your ritual is private and personal and you can make it all your own. The above suggestions are just that–ideas to help you build your own rituals so you can meet your own goals and fulfill your own, beautiful dreams. I wish you all a healthy and happy New Year.



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