In my last post I wrote about crafting your 2022 goals and doing the work EARLY in December vs. waiting until the New Year to try and cobble/scramble your goals together. The good work of goal planning must be done first and BEFORE you revel in your accomplishments from the prior year. NOW with just a few weeks left in 2021 is the ideal time to rightfully recognize what you & your team/s have accomplished on many levels. Some things to consider:
- Recognize Individuals and Teams First: Nobody gets to where they are in their career without the help of others, and its key to recognize all who’ve helped you in 2021. At the very least craft an individual eMail to those on your list, and ideally make a phone call to offer thanks for their support of you. It’s certainly the right thing to do and you’ll feel great experiencing the joy each person will get by receiving your communication. Make the time and reach out to those who have helped you!
- Look Back on Your Year In Detail: No question you’ve accomplished a lot in 2021, however if you’re not careful you may only remember the past 3-4 months and clearly you’ve done more! Carve out time to go through your calendar from 2021 reviewing each day within each month. Go through your past notes – written or electronic – reading and recognizing the prior year. Two things (at least) are going to surface from this process. First, you’re going to revel in what you’ve accomplished writing each down separately as you go and next is the hidden gem. You’re going to find “oh yeah” items which are people, to ‘do’s, action items and more you forgot about which didn’t get done or people you still want to reach out to. This process albeit timely is really key, is productive and it’s fun!
- Collect Your Accomplishments & Do Something For Yourself: Now is the time to revel, smile, laugh, pat yourself on the back and generally feel great about all you’ve accomplished in 2021! Write everything down so you can reference each in the future. Plan something fun for yourself before year-end to recognize all you’ve accomplished. Take one of those remaining vacation days and do something different or that you’ve always wanted to do. Perhaps buy yourself something you’ve had your eye on and attach it to your accomplishments. Every time you look at that item or the pictures you took from that special day off will remind you of your accomplishments in 2021. This is the gift that will keep on giving!