"An unexamined life is not worth living" - Socrates

Each year I measure my results against the goals I set the prior year. This practice of review and reflection has served me well in gaining clarity in what I want to get out of life while also helping to avoid the same mistakes each year. 

After sharing a part of the reflection process on social media, I've received several inquiries from friends asking for more details. So I'll share more specifics here in this post. 

The entire process takes about 8 hours total. But don't worry, you don't have to do it all in one day. For me personally, I split the exercise into two days and by the end of the exercise, I come out refreshed, energized, and with clarity. 

1) Review Google Calendar, iPhone, & Social Media "Moments"

The first thing I do is go through my Google calendar, my iPhone photos, and my social media profile month-by-month. Each month I pick big "moments" that stand out to me, both positive and negative. This can be in any bucket of life - health, relationships, business, adventure, personal development, mindset, etc. you get the idea. I then write those moments down, month-by-month. Usually each month has 5-6 moments underneath. This process of reflection can take up to 2 hours as I really think about what stood out to me. This is the bulk of the work since you must go back and document. 

2) Label Each Moment as Positive or Negative

Then I go through each month and label each moment - do I want more of this or less of this type of moment? Is it positive or negative? If it is negative, I write down my feelings associated with it, the people involved, and what I am going to do differently this year to not have that type of moment occur again. If it is a positive, I write down the same, and think about ways that I can have these types of moments occur more often. I also label whether it is a moment that is likely to reoccur or was a one-time moment. 

3) Extrapolate Priorities

By going through the list of positive moments, it will become easier for you to extrapolate your priorities for the next year. You start to realize what matters to you and what doesn't. Thus, write down your three top life priorities in order of priority. For example, my top priorities are Health, Relationships (family & friends), and Personal Growth. My health is a priority as I have been hospitalized three times in the last three years for three separate events. This keeps showing up on my reflection process each year. So living life with health first has become an obvious #1. My calendar and goals now reflect that.

4) Ask Yourself Questions

After I have my months & moments and my priority list, I begin asking myself questions. I want to make sure I am doing the most optimal activities. Note that it is beneficial to do this review process more than once per year if you want even better results.

• What am I optimizing for? (money, free time, creative output, etc.)

• What is the real objective here?

• Does this activity fill me or drain me with energy? 

• Does the amount of attention I'm giving this match its true importance? (i.e. are you giving attention to things that really aren't important?)

• What do I want more of? What do I want less of?

• What is my biggest opportunity? What can I ensure happens so I capitalize on it?

• For me specifically: what can I do to become a better spouse and father in 2023? (I even asked Brittany this question to see how I can be better!). 

After that, I look to simplify my goals. 

I ask myself: what are my goals for 2023?  

My goals came out vaguely:

• complain less

• more sleep

• less social media 

• less TV

• weight under 190

Now I look to put numbers around the goals and deadlines or else they're just wishes. So my finalized list looks like this: 

2023 Goals:

• complain less (everyone in my family has the right to call me out if I start going negative) and catch myself before I start complaining where possible 

• more and higher quality sleep (in bed by 10pm) sleep 8 hours + goal of 1 hour of REM tracked through my Oura Ring daily

• less social media (restricted after kids go to bed), get down from 5 hours of daily screen time to 3 hours of screen time (literally an extra 8 hours a week!)

• no TV (except for sauna - it's a reward); no TV unless it is habit stacking with a positive habit

• weigh myself every morning to make sure I am under 190 lbs or have to diet/exercise until I get under 190 lbs

Sharing Your Goals

Now for the most important part. To solidify your goals, find someone in your life to share your goals with and to ask to hold you accountable. For me, it's easy, my wife Brittany is on this journey with me, so we share with each other our goals. This sharing process can take time but is highly effective. It's very important to sit and listen, and to not overtalk the other person. Be clear and concise. Ask questions if something is not clear to you. 

Then lastly, after you share and finalize your goals and reflections, your last step is to type out your finalized list of monthly reflections and moments, priorities, and goals, and print it out on one page of paper. It's important that it fits on one piece of paper so your goals are simple and clear. This one-pager will also be kept in a drawer so you can look back on it for years to come. 

What's cool is I have been doing this process since 2019, so I now have four years of reviews. I can look back and see what was going on in my life for each month of the year, and where my mindset was. It's a big Gap and the Gain moment, where you instantly realize you don't need to compare yourself to anyone else, just to who you were previously. Thankfully, I am nothing like I was three years ago. I've grown a lot and I believe it is a big part due to this reflection process.  

Note that I did not put my business goals on my list. I have a separate process for business metrics, which is much more of an excel spreadsheet process that I do on a monthly rather than an annual basis. 

Now go make it happen! You can become anything you choose to become in 2023!

If you have any questions, don't hesitate to reach out! I highly recommend this 2022 Reflection Process to anyone who wants to have an even better 2023! Onward!

 jon@movewithmomentum.com