Seven Ways to Wrap Up Your Year

It’s that time again when it’s natural to look back and reflect on the past 12 months, and look ahead to a fresh start in the new year.

Instead of setting resolutions that are unrealistic and plucked from the clouds, I prefer to focus instead on looking at my past year with an honest and clinical eye and assess what worked and what didn’t. Then I look at what I want to achieve, and make sure that I don’t set myself up to repeat the actions or approaches that didn’t work for me before.

Here’s a list of seven actions you can take to finish strong and start the new year with a bang. Seven is a lucky number for me, so I’m sending good fortune your way:

1. Put aside your judgement hat and take an objective look at what you did this year in your business (or the steps you’re taking toward it). Did you set goals? Did you meet them? Did you exceed them? Did you drift? Did you play small or live large? Look at the results you got, and what actions worked for you or against you. Pat yourself on the back for what you accomplished, and if you didn’t achieve what you wanted, accept the lessons from your experience, have compassion for yourself, and put it behind you. Stop beating yourself up for your shortcomings, and focus your energy on all that’s possible instead.
2. Take a look at what you may be settling for. One of my own coaches uses a tool she calls the List of Tolerations. Make a list of all of the things that are less than ideal in your life that you’re putting up with. It could be a client relationship, or it may be something in your house or personal life that needs fixing. The point is to clear out as much as you can or take baby steps at least so that you can start with a clean slate in 2010.
3. Clean up your finances. If you aren’t on top of either your business or personal finances and you tend to wait until tax time to panic it is worth your while money-wise and stress-wise to set aside a day or a few hours over the next few weeks to take stop. You might need to collect payments or clear bills before the end of the year, and who knows, some business expenses might be just what you need to reduce your tax bill or get a bigger refund at tax time.
4. Clean up your processes. If you tend to operate with a ‘fly-by-the-seat’ approach, chances are your processes are inconsistent or nonexistent. Lack of procedures and systems cause an inconsistent level of service for your customers, and an accumulation of stress and wasted time (equalling lost profit) for you.
5. Clear your space. Literally and figuratively, make room for the blessings of the new year. Tidy up your office, give it a little facelift and be ready to usher in new business. Each year at this time I love choosing a new calendar and creating a new vision collage for the bulletin board beside my desk.
6. Get help. As you think about how your year went, and how you’d like the next one to go, think about the support structures you need in place to allow your business and life to operate at peak potential. You may need to add people to your team, get a coach or professional advisor. On the health and home front perhaps you need support in the form of a housecleaner, nutritional coach or other. Get creative about the support you need and start assembling your dream team – whether you are ready to bring them on or not right now.
7. Visualize your life and business and how you wish both to feel and look. Last year I added a personal and business vision board to my yearly goal setting ritual. Something about the visual representation of my goals made them come to life in a way that was more meaningful for me. And guess what, they all showed up for me in 2009, in some of the most unlikely places!

Of course, the other step is to create a plan to reach the goals and dreams you’ve set for yourself…but that’s a whole other topic. Happy holidays!