how to remember 2022's best lessons

There are 11 days left in 2022. Before you can say “auld lang syne,” we’ll be halfway through January. That’s why I make time for my annual review in December.

I’ve done maybe 10 of these reviews since I learned about the practice from Chris Guillebeau. We can’t change what has happened, but we can turn the past into a teacher and demand its best lessons.

Perhaps you can turn the year’s most disappointing project or difficult client relationship into a new manifesto?

Now is the time to set aside and fiercely protect an hour or two of silence and reflection.

Use that precious interlude to look back on 2022, look ahead to 2023, and (re)define your values, boundaries, creative preferences, criteria for accepting new projects, price for minimum engagements, traits of bad-fit clients, warning signs of dead-end relationships, and principles you’ll use to make better decisions, moving forward.

Here’s the way I sift experiences and accomplishments:

With deep gratitude.

I want to collect, celebrate, and remember the best things from this almost-vanished year.

With deliberate release.

The embarrassing bungles and discouraging bang-ups may impart wisdom, but they don’t define me. I use an annual review to deliberately let them go, with calm finality, like wild squirrels from my attic. Take your chatter elsewhere, you miscreants.

The Year in Review practice is about all about gratitude and release, and the Year in Preview practice is about reconnecting with what happened and renewing your commitment to worthy uses of your time.

In Atomic Habits James Clear writes,

"Every action you take is a vote for the type of person you wish to become."

Once we clarify what we want, we can begin recasting our votes.

Here’s the way I look forward:

With careful observation.

Certain themes and patterns I want to notice, ponder, and test further.

With fresh commitment.

Favorite pursuits like writing and fly fishing deserve more time and consistency. With more intentionality and scheduling hutzpah, I can spend more time on them.

The opportunity the New Year brings is removing mental clutter and chatter and restoring to rightful prominence old loves, truths, and pursuits.

May the questions below expand your palace the way they have mine.

Year in Review

• What of note happened in the last 12 months?
• What went well? What brought me joy?
• What didn’t go well? What left me feeling disappointed or discouraged?
• What do I need to let go of?
• What will I stop doing? What will I say no to next year?
• What will I start doing? What will I say yes to next year?
• What is important right now?
• What scary thing do I need to do?

Year in Preview

• What always matters? What are my nonnegotiables?
• What do I want? Where am I headed?
• How will I know when I’m there?
• Who do I need to be in order to reach the next level?
• What do the people already there do that I don’t?
• Do I need any beliefs, habits, or relationships I don’t have?
• What is the best use of my time?
• What other questions should I be asking?

Dear reader, my prayer is that you have a joyous, hope-filled holiday with the people you love the most. And may 2023 be your best year yet.

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About Austin L. Church

Hi, I'm Austin, a writer, brand consultant, and freelance coach.

I started freelancing after finishing my M.A. in Literature and getting laid off from a marketing agency. Freelancing led to mobile apps (Bright Newt), a tech startup (Closeup.fm), a children's book (Grabbling), and a branding studio (Balernum). 

I love teaching freelancers and consultants how to stack up specific advantages for more income, free time, and fun. My wife and I live with our wrecking balls and two cats in Knoxville, Tennessee, near the Great Smoky Mountains.

You can learn more at FreelanceCake.com. You can also connect with me on Twitter.