Why You Should Do an End of Year Reflection and a Free Workbook

An end of year reflection is something new to me. But this year, in particular, has brought about a lot of changes for me and I felt it was something I needed to do (both on a personal and blog/business level).

 

A blogger I follow, Deanna of Life by Deanna, has shared a lot of tips and thoughts lately on her blog about making time for your goals and how to set yourself up for success, particularly in the New Year. 

 

Many of her recent posts have left me thinking about this past year and reflecting and that’s where this blog post idea came from.

 

Because, in doing my own end of year reflection, I’ve learned just how important they really are.

 

But, before I share some of my end of year reflections, let’s talk about what exactly these things are and why they are important. 

 

 

 

What is an end of year reflection? 

 

An end of year reflection is just like it sounds. It’s where you pause and take some time to answer questions about the past year. 

 

Questions like, what new activities did you try? What were your biggest accomplishments of the year?

 

Or, simply what was your favorite book or TV show from the past year? 

 

Be they for personal or business, end of year reflections let you see how far you’ve come and how much you’ve grown or changed over the course of a year. 

 

They cause you to pause, take a breath, and really think about everything you’ve been through. 

 

The good, the bad. The funny, the sad. All of it gets put into perspective when you do an end of year reflection.

 

 

Why should you do an end of year reflection? 

 

Listen, life in general is a lot. 

 

Everyone has struggles in life, everyone has highs and lows. 

 

And it’s helpful to look back on everything that happened over the course of a year. 

 

You can really do a reflection anytime. Quarterly or even monthly if you wanted to. But, it’s fitting at the end of the year because a New Year is often associated with beginnings and rebirth. 

 

Plus you might actually be able to take some time for yourself to actually do an end of year reflection. Maybe you have some vacation time you are taking or the kids will be with the grandparents one day. 

 

The end of the year is just a natural time to pause and reflect on everything that has happened over the past year.

 

 

What are the benefits of doing an end of year reflection? 

 

There are a number of benefits to doing an end of year reflection, including highlighting personal and/or professional growth. 

 

Maybe you even have goals you set for yourself or your business last year that you can reflect back on. 

 

But I think the biggest benefit to answering end of year reflection questions is to set yourself up for success in the new year. 

 

What made this past year great? What made it not so great?

 

And, how can you make this new year better (and possibly avoid some of the past year’s mistakes or missteps)? 

 

All of that often comes to light when you do an end of year reflection.

 

And, if you haven’t done an end of year reflection before you need to. 

 

So, that’s why I’m sharing a Year-End Reflection Workbook with you. 

 

You can download and print this workbook to do your own end of year reflection. 

 

 

 

 

Packed with questions and prompts for writing and reflecting, this workbook is really for everyone!

 

Anyone at any stage of life can complete this either personally or professionally. 

 

For me, my end of year reflection ended up being a little of both and I think that’s the perfect blend. 

 

 

And I will share some of the questions in the workbook, plus my end of year reflections too!

 

1. What is something new you are glad you tried? 

 

Blogging! 

 

I’m so glad I started KT Likes Coffee. I’ve loved getting back into writing. I’ve loved connecting with other bloggers and coffee lovers.

 

I have just really enjoyed it and it’s become such a fun and rewarding project for me. I’m so glad I took the plunge in 2022 and I wish I hadn’t waited so long.

 

Here’s a recap of my first year of blogging!

 

2. List the shows and movies you loved. 

 

I’m a big TV watcher and I have a number of shows that I’ve really enjoyed this year. You can check out this list of Netflix shows and movies I shared over the summer if you are on the hunt for anything new to watch (there’s even some not to watch shows too!).

 

There are actually many shows that I watched over the years that aired their final season in 2022, so those are the ones I’ve chosen for my most loved list this year.

 

• The Walking Dead 
• Locke & Key
• The Last Kingdom
• This Is Us
• Ozark

 

3. How did you practice self-care?

 

This is something I’ve tried to work on throughout the entire year because I’ve learned that I’m a better mom and wife when I practice self-care.

 

One of the biggest ways I improved my self-care this year was through gratitude journaling. 

 

My New Year’s resolution for 2022 was to practice gratitude more. And, journaling three things I was grateful for each day helped me do that. It also offered some much-needed self-care and reflection that I could easily do whenever I had time.

 

4. List what you are grateful for this year. 

 

At the end of the workbook is a space for you to list what you are grateful for this year.

 

For me, this list could be so long because there is so much I have to be grateful for this year.

 

Despite everything that has happened I have a wonderful husband and daughter, loving parents and sister, and amazing friends. 

 

I’m extremely grateful for my job and my coworkers. My health and the roof over my head. 

 

Lastly, I’m so grateful for you reader!

 

Whoever you are, wherever you are… thank you. Thank you for reading this post or any of my others. Thank you for buying any coffee I recommended and telling me your thoughts about it.

 

Thank you for supporting me however you have. I SO appreciate it. 

 

 

That’s just a small sampling of what’s inside and how I’ve used the very same end of year reflection questions inside the workbook.

 

 

 

 

Hopefully, I’ve inspired you to complete your own end of year reflection questions. 

 

And if you’ve ever done an end of year reflection before, tell me about it in the comments! 

 

I hope you have a wonderful new year!