The End of Year Review

Published October 4, 2026.

Look back at what you actually finished, keep what you learned, then write next year as if it already happened.

An end of year review is a sit-down, usually in December, where you look back at what you finished, what you learned and what you want next. The method below has three parts and 30 questions. It ends with next year written as done, so the review leads straight into a plan.

Why a yearly review is worth an hour

A year is long enough to forget most of it. Without a review, the year tends to collapse into a few highlights and a vague sense that you did not do enough. That sense is often wrong.

Teresa Amabile and Steven Kramer studied the daily diaries of people at work and reported that nothing contributed more to a positive inner work life than making progress in meaningful work. They also found that small setbacks could weigh heavily. Source. An end of year review is a chance to see your progress clearly, small wins included.

Reflection may also help you learn. In a field study at a call center, trainees who spent the last 15 minutes of each day writing about what they had learned did about 23% better on a final test than trainees who kept working. Source. That was daily reflection on a job, not a yearly review, but it supports taking time to write down lessons.

Before you start

• Set aside 60 to 90 minutes. One long sitting or three short ones.
• Gather what helps you remember: your calendar, photos, your journal, your done list if you keep one.
• Go month by month through the calendar first. It brings back more than memory alone.

Part 1. What I finished (10 questions)

1. What did I finish this year that I am proud of?
2. What did I finish that nobody else noticed?
3. What did I start that is still going?
4. Which month was my best, and why?
5. What hard thing did I get through?
6. What did I learn to do?
7. Who did I help?
8. What habit did I build, even partly?
9. What did I say no to that I am glad about?
10. What is one small win I almost forgot?

Part 2. What I learned (10 questions)

11. What took longer than I expected?
12. What did I avoid, and what did that cost?
13. When did I feel most like myself?
14. What drained my energy most often?
15. Which goal did I drop, and was that the right call?
16. What obstacle kept showing up?
17. What advice would I give myself last January?
18. Who made the year better?
19. What do I want less of next year?
20. What do I want more of next year?

Part 3. Next year, written as done (10 questions)

Write these in the past tense, as if it is the end of next year and it went well.

21. What did I finish next year, in one sentence?
22. How do I know? What is the proof?
23. What did an ordinary week look like by the end of the year?
24. What did I stop doing to make room?
25. What obstacle did I plan for, and how?
26. What was true by the end of September?
27. What was true by the end of June?
28. What was true by the end of March?
29. What did I do in the first week of January?
30. What will I do in the next seven days, before the year even starts?

Questions 26 to 29 are a backward plan. If you would like help with them, the free reverse planner takes your answer to question 21 and a date, and drafts milestones backward with a first step.

A worked example

Here are a few answers from Chris, a teacher who wants to write more.

• Q1, finished: "I taught a new course and wrote all its lessons from scratch."
• Q10, small win: "Three students emailed to say the unit on letters was their favorite."
• Q12, avoided: "Submitting my short stories. I wrote four and sent none."
• Q16, obstacle: "Waiting for the story to feel ready."
• Q21, next year as done: "By December 31 I submitted ten short stories to magazines and one was accepted or got a personal note."
• Q25, obstacle plan: "If a story has been edited three times, then I submit it that week."
• Q28, March: "By March 31 I made a list of 15 magazines and submitted three stories."
• Q30, next seven days: "Pick the best of my four stories and look up three magazines that publish that kind of story."

Chris started with a year that felt like "I did not write much." The review showed a finished course, real student feedback, four finished stories and one clear obstacle. The plan for next year came straight out of it.

Tips for a good review

• Finish Part 1 before Part 2. Seeing what you did first makes the lessons easier to face.
• Be specific. "Ran 3 times a week from April to July" is more useful than "exercised more".
• Keep next year to one or two goals. The review will suggest ten. Pick the ones that matter most.
• Keep the review. Next December, read this one first.

Close the year, start the next

Block an hour this month and work through the three parts. Then do the action from question 30 within a week. Start From Done takes next year's goal written as done, turns it into a daily 45 minute sprint and keeps your done list all year, so next December's review is easier. The core is free. To turn your answers into a full year plan, read how to plan your year backward, or write a letter from your future self.

Questions

What is an end of year review?

It is a yearly sit-down where you look back at what you finished, what you learned and what you want next, usually ending with goals for the next year.

How long does an end of year review take?

About 60 to 90 minutes for most people. You can split it into three shorter sittings, one per part.

What questions should I ask in a year review?

Ask what you finished, what you learned, what obstacle kept showing up, and what next year looks like written as done. The 30 questions on this page follow that order.

When should I do my end of year review?

Any time in the last few weeks of the year works. Some people prefer their birthday or the end of a school or fiscal year.

How do I turn a year review into goals?

Write next year as done in one sentence, add proof, plan for your main obstacle, then work back to quarterly checkpoints and an action for the next seven days.

Keep reading

• The Done ListA done list records what you finished instead of what is left. 6 min read.
• The Weekly ReviewA weekly review template for personal goals: look back at what you did, check your plan, and pick next week's actions. 5 min read.
• Small Wins and the Progress PrincipleWhat Amabile and Kramer found about progress at work, what it does not show, and how to record small wins in a nightly done log you can reread. 7 min read.
• Browse all 35 articles in the library