OfficeArrow – End-of-Year PERSONAL Review

Recently, I posted an article that discussed preparing for the much dreaded End-of-Year Professional Review. As many of us know, the end of the year is typically considered a good time to reflect on the past and consider goals for the future. So why not take this “Year End Review” concept and apply it to our personal lives with a “Year End Personal Review”? Below is an outline that details some basic to-do items you might include, along with some larger, more thoughtful suggestions for your consideration.

1. Update contact information for friends and family

This is a helpful thing to do at least once a year. Make sure you have everyone’s updated address, phone and email information in one central location. This is helpful for sending out holiday cards as well (which I vow to do this year!!). If you need to, send out a mass email to friends and family and just ask if anything has changed since last year.

2. Review Someday/Maybe list

The Someday/Maybe list idea comes from GTD (Getting Things Done). It’s the place where you put all the random ideas that pop into your mind – books you’d like to read, places you’d like to go, classes you’d like to take. The end of the year is a perfect time to take a look at it and see what things could be worked on during the next year. It’s a great place to get inspired for New Year’s Resolutions.

3. Review budget and overall financial situation

Even if you try to constantly watch and improve your financial situation, it’s helpful to take an in-depth look at least once a year to see how much you’ve been spending in each “category” (such as food, entertainment, clothing, etc) and also how much you’ve been able to save compared with years past. Review accumulated debts and see which direction things are going. Are you getting more efficient with your money or have you been slacking off? Are you gaining debt or getting rid of it? If you find that your savings account has dwindled, resolve to get back on track. If it has grown to a significant amount, it might be a good time to consider finding an investment with a higher rate of return. Taking note of finances is also helpful when preparing for the inevitable holiday spending spree. Plan ahead for it and stick to a budget! For help getting back on track, check out 31 Days to Fix Your Finances from The Simple Dollar.

4. Deep clean the house

Whether you have family coming to your home for the holidays or not, taking the time to do a deep cleaning will make life less stressful. If you’re going away for the holidays, there’s nothing like coming home to a beautifully clean house. Personally, we’ll have family visiting so it’s a great time to clean all those little corners we normally forget about. We don’t see the dust bunnies buried there, but you can be sure that a visitor will!

5. State of the Union

Check in with your partner and see how things are going. Many couples get into the routine of daily life and they never really sit down and see how the other is feeling about things. The end of the year is a nice time to get together for a brief status check. Is everyone feeling solid, happy and satisfied with the union? The holidays can be stressful and many times, we end up leaning on our significant other for support. Doing a quick check in lets you say how much you appreciate it and depend on it. Use this as an opportunity to really express how you feel and make improvements when needed. If you recognize that you haven’t spent enough time together in the past year, make it a resolution to change that. Put some firm actions into place now to keep the state of the union positive for everyone involved. For some great relationship advice, check out How to Build Intimacy in Any Relationship from Think Simple Now.

6. Organize paperwork

The end of the year is a good time to gather all the miscellaneous papers floating around and get them properly labeled and filed. Get rid of those not needed and box up anything important that you won’t need to have easy and immediate access to. For real efficiency with the paper, get rid of it! Check out How to Go Paperless: Bury the Paper Before It Buries You from Lifehack. The paperless idea might not be realistic for everything, but even a few things stored electronically will really help.

Use this Year End Personal Review concept to recognize your accomplishments of the past year and set your sights on an exciting, productive new year. Use it as a tool to consider where you’ve been, where you are and where you’re going. It’s also an excellent way to help you wind down and relax during the holiday season.

By www.officearrow.com

Recently, I posted an article that discussed preparing for the much dreaded End-of-Year Professional Review. As many of us know, the end of the year is typically considered a good time to reflect on the past and consider goals for the future. So why not take this “Year End Review” concept and apply it to our personal lives with a “Year End Personal Review”? Below is an outline that details some basic to-do items you might include, along with some larger, more thoughtful suggestions for consideration.  Read More

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