plan(it)* progress (5%)
MODULE 1
| review the previous year
Before you get started on reviewing the previous year, here are some resources/pieces of information that might be helpful to have with you while you're working on the action steps for this video:
 
  • goals from the previous year (across all areas of your life)
  • your calendar
  • your task list manager
  • your journal or a daily log (if you have one)
  • project notebooks (if you have them)
  • your CV
  • anything else that might jog your memory about what you did this past year
    • e.g., I like to pull up Google photos (where all of are pictures are housed) to help me remember what went on, especially in the personal realm.
Once you've watched the video and gathered the information listed above, you'll make two lists:

  • one that includes all the things that you did over the past 12 months
  • the other that includes all the things that you wanted to do over the past 12 months but you either didn't get to or didn't make as much progress on as you wanted (a.k.a. "challenging projects")
  • time estimate: ~30 minutes
After you have your two lists, take a look at them. Think about the things that helped you reach these accomplishments, as well as what made them challenging to complete or make progress on.
 
  • E.g., maybe you had a course buyout during fall term last year, which allowed you to make significant progress on a research project that was previously stalled. 
    • Or maybe you started consistently going to bed at 10:30 p.m. versus 1 a.m. and that gave you more energy to work out in the mornings. 
    • Or for things that were challenging, maybe you were asked to serve on a committee unexpectedly and you had to set some of your projects aside. 
    • Or maybe you got really sick and you had to take time off from work and ease up on personal projects, so lots of things got put on hold while you were recovering and resting. 
    • Whatever the case may be for you, this can be a helpful exercise in noticing patterns in how you work. You don't need to come up with something for every single item on your list, focus on anything that stands out to you. 
  • Time estimate: ~20 - 30 minutes. 
If there's anything that you see on your list that you know you're going to be working on during the upcoming year, jot that down or star it or highlight it. Flag it in some way because we'll use these items later when we're doing goal-setting for the year.

This is also a great time to...
  1. update your CV
  2. give yourself some acknowledgment for all of the work you've done
  3. celebrate your accomplishments!
Action steps summary:

 Review all of the things that you did/didn't do during the previous year
 Identify patterns related to what helped you accomplish these things and what made these things more challenging
 Make a note of anything you want to continue working on for the upcoming year, setting it aside for later. 
  Update your CV
  Celebrate your accomplishments!

If you're using the plan(it)* workbook, you'll be working in module 1: review and reflect on the previous year. Check out the above video for more instructions on using the workbook.


Once you've completed the action steps for this video, click the "Sublesson complete!" button below and move on to the next sublesson when you're ready.
Sublesson complete! Next up: Reflect