👩🏻‍💻 by Hailley Griffis

Every December (usually between Christmas and New Year’s, with a hot drink, somewhere that isn’t my house) I reflect on the full year. Without it, my brain defaults to the last few months and one or two dramatic events. With it, I can see patterns, celebrate wins I’d already forgotten, and start planning with the whole story instead of the recent one.

Two ways to run it below: write it out, or talk it out and let AI pull the themes. I’m always used to write these out but have found talking them out to be better suited to my life in recent years.

Duplicate this to your own Notion space to get started. There is a button at the top right. Duplicate the “Reflection: [year]” section each year.

Before you begin

• [ ] Pick a spot that isn’t your usual workspace (a coffee shop, a walk, the car)
• [ ] Pull up anything that jogs memory: your goal tracker, habit tracker, accomplishments list, books list, photos, calendar
• [ ] Give it 60–90 minutes.

Reflection: [Year]

Written Version:

The areas I review

For each, note highlights, low points, big changes, and small shifts.

• Goals and habits — Did I reach them? If not, what got in the way? What did I learn from the attempts?
• Reading and learning — How many books did I read, and what was I drawn to? (This tells me how much space I made for rest and learning.)
• Life domains — Work · Family · Relationships · Health · Hobbies · Personal life
• Celebrations and challenges — What am I proud of? What were the hardest moments? What surprised me?
• Themes and patterns — Zoom out. What undercurrents show up in how I spent time and energy?

The prompts

• What were the biggest highlights of this year?
• What were the most challenging moments, and what did I learn from them?