7 Questions to help review your year and plan ahead

I’m always excited about a new year. It’s the chance to begin again. To take a look at what worked and what didn’t from the previous year and make the necessary changes to have greater impact on yourself and others in 2024.

There are many tools and templates to do this, but this is one I have used for several years. I’ve used this on my own as well as with my creative network and other small groups.

Feel free to edit and make it more personal to you and fit in better with your life, or just use it as it comes. Up to you.

Annual Review & Future Goals

1. WHAT WOULD I LIKE TO DO MORE OF IN 2024?

If you don’t know what you want, how will you know if you get it?

This question is a powerful one to help you focus on what you want from the new year. It’s not just about what you personally would like to do more of–though that’s important too. It’s thinking about what would help you advance your long-term goals, or just take things further.

2. WHAT WOULD I LIKE TO DO LESS OF IN 2024?

Sometimes you need to re-evaluate what you’re doing as it’s all too easy to get focused working IN your business and life and not ON it. There can be tasks you are doing which are not the best use of your time. It’s not that you need to stop doing those particular things (that’s a later question) but you may need to do them less or even look to outsource.

If you find yourself doing more admin than you’d like, hire a virtual assistant. If you want to spend far less time on your own as you find this demotivating, get along to networking events or start your own group.

If you are finding that you want to do less procrastinating and take more action, hire a coach to keep you accountable, or join a community. Turn your doing less, into a positive and do more that’s effective.

3. WHAT PROJECTS WOULD I LIKE TO START IN 2024?

This question has to be finely balanced with staying focused. I know from experience it’s all too easy for us creative and entrepreneurial types to get magpie syndrome where we see so many shiny objects that distract us from actually finishing or being consistent with anything, so we don’t see success.

If there are ideas you want to get off the ground, ask yourself first:

1. Is there a better time to start this?

2. Will it distract me from my vision?

3. Will this be a financial drain for too long?

If you answer ‘no’ to all those questions, then now might just be the time to get that idea started.

4. WHAT WOULD I LIKE TO STOP DOING ALTOGETHER?

Just like question 2, this one goes further to challenge you to completely give up areas that aren’t profitable. This includes both your time and your money. 

It can be a difficult one as there may be things you are holding on to because, well...you’ve always done it. It’s easy to get emotionally attached to a project or venture. Perhaps you’ve never even questioned whether you should still be doing it.

I know it’s tough to make those decisions to completely quit something. I had to do this with my Creatives Hub - minihub groups. I’d loved running these groups but they were taking my focus away from the core of my business. It was no accident then, that once I’d given them up, I had my most successful year to that date.

And, this year, I was able to start a new and improved creative community. What I learnt from the first one has helped me no-end. So stopping it at the time I did, was not the end of the world scenario that can easily go through your mind at the time.

5. WHAT HELP WILL I NEED TO ACHIEVE EVERYTHING I WANT TO?

It can often be difficult for the self-reliant creative and entrepreneur to admit they need help. It took me three years before I realised I needed administrative assistance and four years to recognise I needed a business coach to help me grow my business in the way I wanted. You can check to see if you are ready to have a coach here.

Imagine if you had a crack team working with you to allow your business and life to run just the way you want it to. What would that look like? Who would that crack team comprise of?

In Ken Coleman's book The Proximity Principle, he lists five different types of people that could be included:

1. Professors - People who know and teach in the field you want to work in

2. Professionals - The best of the best in your field

3. Mentors - People to offer guidance and accountability (this includes coaches)

4. Peers - People to accompany you on your journey

5. Producers - People who create jobs, hire and build teams and generate opportunities.

Another way to look at your team is this:

1. Mentor - to offer guidance

2. Coach - to keep you accountable

3. Business Partner - to work on the vision together to keep you motivated

4. Administrative Assistant - to make sure stuff happens when it needs to

Either way be really honest with yourself and make a decision to connect with the right people in 2024.

6. WHAT ARE MY CURRENT REVENUE STREAMS AND HOW CAN I LOOK TO EXPAND IN 2024?

Are you clear about what's driving your income? Like the ‘what would you like to do less of’ question, this can be another one where you get stuck working IN your business and not taking a step back to get that helicopter view to know how successful or unsuccessful different aspects of your business and life have been.

This is a huge area with uncertainty in the economic climate. Now is a good time to think about whether you are relying too much on one revenue stream and what you would do – how your business would cope - if that stream dried up.

From a personal financial point of view, I love Dave Ramsey’s Baby Steps as a great way to help you get out of debt, and plan your positive financial future.

Make sure you know where your income is coming from and what areas you need to look to expand in 2024. 

7. IMAGINE LOOKING BACK ON 2024 FROM JANUARY 2025. HOW WOULD I LIKE TO DESCRIBE THE YEAR?

This can be one word or it can be a phrase or even a short description of the future you want to have. 

There’s a verse in the Bible that says ‘Where there is no vision, the people perish’. There’s a reason why it says that. It’s good to have a vision of success. What that looks like will differ from business to business, from person to person.  Know what yours is and describe it in as much detail and specificity as you can. Think about what you would absolutely love to say about your business and life in 12 months time. Then you can do what it takes to make it happen.

Wrapping up

Those are some of the questions we use to help us review the past year and focus on what’s coming up in the new one. You may have other questions and I’d love to know these along with your responses to the questions below. Just post them in the comments.

Here’s a summary of the questions:

1. What would I like to do more of in 2024?

2. What would I like to do less of in 2024?

3. What projects would I like to start in 2024?

4. What would I like to stop doing altogether?

5. What help will I need to achieve everything I want to and have listed above?

6. What are my current revenue streams and how can I look to expand in 2024?

7. Imagine looking back on 2025 from January 2024. How would you like to describe the year?

But for now, all that’s left to say – I hope 2024 is an inspiring, successful and prosperous year for you.