# A List Of Questions & Exercises For Reviewing Your Year

As the year comes to an end, I thought it might be useful to share some questions that might help with reviewing your past year.

This is an adapted post, based on what I have written [here](https://medium.com/@wikiwisdom_/the-ultimate-guide-to-reviewing-learning-from-your-2017-4453312ea608).

And, I've put together an interactive suite so you can answer the questions in a more frictionless way. It's on PH right [now.](https://www.producthunt.com/posts/your-2017-review-by-project-zeno) I hope the exercise increases your utilotons.

Before starting, here are a few reasons why reflecting on your year might be a good idea:

*   You're essentially using System 2 to learn from the general unarticulated patterns of data gathered by System 1. This can help reduce possible [Garfield](http://lesswrong.com/lw/2p1/a_failure_to_evaluate_returnontime_fallacy/) errors.
*   According to Dr. Jordan Peterson, written reflection also transforms the way the brain processes your experiences, as neural activity shifts from the emotional, stress-related parts of your brain (amygdala) to the more logical and detatched parts of your brain (pre-frontal cortex).
*   It's always great to have an increase in self-knowledge. You are an individual after all, might as well get to know yourself better.

I struggled with clearly categorising the questions, but here's my attempt nonetheless.

#### **Looking at the stuff that has shapes you over the last year:**

365 days is a long time. The purpose of these questions is to become more aware of the experiences and ideas that have influenced you and the person you’ve become in the last year.

*   What were some significant experiences that occurred in the last year? Describe 3–5. How did they change your perceptions and actions? Were they good or bad?
*   What new things did you discover this year? (Books, Ideas, People) Which ones influenced you the most? How?
*   What did I encounter that was unexpected — Which surprised me?
*   What did I continue to enjoy this year?
*   What did I continue to work on this year?
*   What new priorities have emerged for you this year that you are committed to honoring? Which old ones would you like to reaffirm. Write your WHY next to each one.

#### **Learning from the good times and the bad times:**

*   Make a list of 3–5 things that went really well in the last year. Why do you think these were successes? What stopped them from being catastrophes?
*   Make a list of 3–5 things that went horribly wrong this year. Why do you think this occured? What might have led to a different outcome? What actionable changes might you make?
*   What was painful? What caused this pain? List 5 examples.
*   What were the largest obstacles I faced? How did I deal with them?
*   What small things and big things should I be most grateful for from this year?
*   _What were your worst decisions of the year? Why did you make them?_  
    _What is the biggest “unfinished business” of the year and what can you do about that?_
*   _What do I regret the most?_
*   _What was the toughest experience?_
*   _When was I at my worst?_
*   What were the vices that I indulged in? Am I willing to write these off?
*   _What habits am I proud to have cultivated? How can I do more of this?_
*   _What beliefs got in the way last year? What are some examples?_
*   What were the 20% of activities, people, and pursuits that gave me 80% of the value in my life? What 80% of things got in the way?

#### **Comparing Reality to Intentions:**

*   What priorities did I honor well in 2017?
*   What were my priorities this year — Theoretically?
*   What were my actual priorities this year (as revealed by your actions — Look at your calendar). What did I turn my back on? Truly enact and commit to?
*   _Which goals from the previous year did I achieve?_
*   _What did I improve at?_
*   _Where did I worsen or stagnate?_
*   What important things were there that I should have done but didn’t do? AKA What have I been avoiding?
*   Why did you do what you did?
*   _Did my actions show me to be a good person?_
*   _How much time did I spend on things that were consequential/stuff I cared about?_
*   Did I contribute to others? If not, how can I enable myself to be better in the future?…
*   How did I help those around me?
*   Who must I thank for being amazing this year? When will I do it?

That's it. Once again, I've made a neat tool for answering these questions in an interactive way, so it might be worth [trying it](https://www.producthunt.com/posts/your-2017-review).

  

Also, this is my first post here, so any feedback would be great. I've been thinking of sharing some summaries/reviews of books/articles clustered around certain topics IE history, psychology etc. Would that be okay?

  

All the best for the year ahead BTW :D