With the year about to end and a new one about to begin, now is a great time to review, revisit, and plan.

For the review, there’s The Year Compass. Alternatively, Chris Guillebeau has a guide for annual review and Tim Ferriss has a past year review process. Try any of these or try more than one, as long as you perform at least one review. Find what works and stick with it.

For revisiting, there are one’s old journals and planners from the last twelve months. Give yourself time and space enough to sit with their contents. You might miss quite a bit if you speed through them. You can also look at your online calendars, your to-do lists, etc. for a peek into what the last year was like. If you haven’t kept any journals then start today. The Five-Minute Journal makes for a great, low-barrier entry to journaling. Morning Pages can work wonders. But all you need is a notebook that you use consistently.

For planning, there are many systems. Getting Things Done has one, for example, as does The Year Compass mentioned earlier. The specific system matters less than whether or not you fill it out. Doing so primes your mind to look for opportunities it might otherwise miss and helps you to decide which ones to choose. Without a plan, you’ll be left guessing at crucial moments. Check out SMART Goals for pragmatic advice on planning. Whichever system you choose, remember to check your plan frequently through the following year to see if you’re on track and whether you need to change direction.

Happy New Year! May your reflections and aspirations prove fruitful. We can’t wait to see what you do.