Reviving Your Life: Why an Annual Personal Review is Key for Goal-Setting and Wellness Improvement
This time of year, it’s impossible not to think about new year resolutions, goal setting, and KNOWING that we’re going to be a new person next year. Before we go down the rabbit hole of healthy, realistic, personal goal setting, I want to discuss hosting an Annual Review with you.
Annual Review Meeting
Anyone who has worked in a professional setting, whether a clinic, office space, or agency, knows that annual reviews happen (funnily) a few times a year. Typically, they’re tied to your work anniversary and the fiscal year of your workplace's performance. It’s a space to review the goals of the year prior, typically tied to your individual or team's performance. This can include whatever professional goals you set for yourself at your workplace and goals that your manager, supervisor, or workplace had for your role. In this review, folks evaluate what was realistic, what went well, and areas for growth and improvement. I like to think of them as concentric circles. My performance, my teams' performance, my branches' performance, and the company's performance. This could be formal, with an agency, reflection questions, and plans for the new year. It could also be conversational and anecdotal, depending on your workplace. Regardless of the formality, there are a few key components that are addressed:
My Professional Performance:
Includes the critical components of my job or the non-negotiables. Was I able to do my job as assigned, and was my performance at that job up to the standard or criteria of my employer?
My Achievements:
These weren’t critical to my job role, but things that I did that were beneficial to my performance, or the performance of others, and aided in other goals.
My Superpowers:
Superpowers are the things that make us unique. Our secret sauce is the thing that makes me stand out, which others might not excel or enjoy as much. For example, I enjoyed working with my clientele's parents in a previous job. It was necessary for the job, but I enjoyed and excelled. I would support my colleagues regarding ways to better approach or support caregivers because I knew that if my caregivers felt supported, they would better help my clients.
My Opportunities for Growth or Improvement:
These could be personality concerns (are you the one rolling your eyes in meetings or consistently showing up 5-10 minutes late)? They may also be like overextending yourself, not sticking to your boundaries, or not managing your time well. These traits have so many other areas of impact; if you’re not realistic about your workload, ability to perform, or send emails and texts in the middle of the night, it impacts your team's and your workplace's culture. Even though we know your intentions are good and pure. You want to be a good employee and teammate.
My Career or Professional Objectives (overarching goals):
The magical question is, “Where do you see yourself one/five/ten years from now?” Knowing that we all have ambitions and goals professionally, saying them out loud is essential! Let others support you in meeting those goals or taking steps toward them.
A Personal Annual Review
I’m not sure about you, but I don’t give my performance, relationships, sleep, exercise, mental health, time spent with hobbies, loved ones, or sense of creativity nearly the amount of time I do my professional goals and aspirations. This feels so disproportionate when I think about it! I work 30% of the time; in theory, the other 70% is mine. It matters even more than my professional performance. Let’s be honest; when our personal lives are in shambles, it dramatically impacts how we’re able to show up at work. It impacts how I show up working, my enthusiasm for work, my willingness to try new things (personally or professionally), and my sense of fulfillment.
Begin with Annual Celebrations
It can be effortless to start with the critiques. We didn’t do everything we said we would, even to ourselves. I’d suggest that you start with 5-10 items that you’d like to celebrate about 2022:
Here are some examples:
I had a regular yoga practice
I stayed connected with three friends and felt good about how I showed up and let them show up for me.
I identified a bedtime and a ritual that works for me.
I paid off a credit card balance.
I created better boundaries in my relationship with the news & politics.
Next, identify why they matter to you.
I had a regular yoga practice. That benefitted my physical and mental health because I felt stronger, more focused, and more patient with the people in my life.
I stayed connected to three friends, which was helpful for my social wellness. Having a community where I feel connected is essential to me.
I identified a bedtime routine and a ritual that works for me, which is good for my mental and physical health because sleeping is tough for me, so anytime I feel like I’m making progress, I feel aligned and like I have a lot of agency!
I paid off a credit card balance which was good for my financial wellness and made me feel financially capable like I have more control over my future.
I created better boundaries in my relationship with the news & politics. This was helpful for my mental health because I wasn’t constantly bombarding myself with distressing information.
Come Up With a Theme for 2023
Now that we've identified the things that have felt successful for the year, our superpowers, skills, and accomplishments- let's use that information to inform our time and energy for 2023. Thinking forward to the end of 2023, how do I want to feel?
What values will I have lived in alignment with?
What strategies will I use to support myself?
In what way will I leverage my superpowers?
Where do I want to focus my time and energy the most this year?
This year, my main focus will be on _____________________ (this is your theme!)
This is ONE example of some of the juiciness we dive into in our virtual femme group.
If you’re interested in joining us or finding out more information, send me a line, and we can chat.
