How to Wrap up Your Year

We blinked, and another year has flown by!

Have you achieved what you set out to in your business this year?

Running a business is a rollercoaster at the best of times. Add to it the challenges we all face, from economic uncertainty to the rapidly changing landscape of marketing driven by AI.

By focusing on what went wrong, or the things you wish were different, you may overlook the achievements worth celebrating.

The holidays are a great time to reflect on and review how the year has been for you. Wrapping up 2024 in a brilliant way will help you to move into 2025, ready to embrace new opportunities.

You can do this for both your business and personal life. It's a great activity to share with family and friends if you want something to do once you've had enough of leftovers and cheesy films.

3 Lists

This exercise helps you categorise your experiences into three lists, so you can take the appropriate next step.

I find going old school with paper and pens works best, but do whatever works best for you. Allow yourself 5 minutes for each list – limiting the time will help you avoid overthinking it, and you’ll be surprised how much you’ll remember in a short time. Create lists for:

• Your highs
• Your lows
• Things to stop

Your Highs

We often get so sidetracked by all the things that go wrong, we forget how much we actually achieve. This is an opportunity to celebrate all your wins across the year. What went well for you this year? What are you grateful for? If you’re anything like me, you’ll be surprised by just how many there are when you start to download them in one place.

Once you have your list, allow yourself to celebrate each of the high points - remember how good you felt and your sense of achievement. Keep it somewhere you can refer to it when you need a little booster of what has gone well and knowing what has worked in your business and life, will help you to plan to do more of those things next year.

Your Lows

Briefly acknowledge your low points, focusing on what you’ve learned.

Recognise if there was something about the situation that you could have done differently. This awareness is a point of reference, should a similar situation arise in the future. It will also help you with your plans for next year by knowing some of the areas of your business that require a different approach.

Once you’ve learned what you need to know, it’s time to make peace with or accept the low points so you can move on because constantly analysing them will get in the way of you taking action.

If you feel stuck by these challenging times, use your preferred personal development method (NLP, EFT, journaling etc.) or talk them through with your coach, or a trusted friend or business buddy to support you with this.

Things to Stop

Think about the things (including situations and people), that have held you back, or got in your way over the past year. See this as decluttering your business and life - it can include anything from having a big sort-out to cancelling subscriptions or dropping one of your services. This exercise will free up your time and energy to spend on the things that will make a difference to you.

Giving myself permission to retire from working as a practitioner a couple of years ago was a huge turning point for me. It gave me the time and space to focus on where I feel I can make the biggest impact with my business - supporting other holistic practitioners to do the work they're meant to be doing.

It's one thing to think about letting go, but action is key to success here. Create a plan of action for yourself so you know what you need to do - simply identifying the first step for each thing will help you here.

Letting Go

A symbolic ritual of letting go of the lows, and the things to stop is a great way to release you, freeing you up and ready for the New Year. Write each item on a piece of paper, then burn or shred them to symbolically let go.  Or use a ritual of your choice that serves the same purpose.

Finish on a High

What are the three things you’re most proud of achieving in 2024? It doesn’t matter whether they’re a mixture of personal and business things - you achieved them. Notice how you feel when you think of them and allow yourself to celebrate that feeling as a reminder that you've got this!

I hope this has inspired you to wrap up your year so you're ready for your new adventures next year.

Feeling overwhelmed with your marketing? Let’s turn the chaos into calm together. I’ll help you clarify your best next steps and explore the right support for you. Book a call today and take the first step towards marketing that feels authentic, simple, and effective.