Check in Regularly

Annual and mid-year reviews can change your life

I’ve been doing annual reviews, and leading workshops on creative ways to review a year for quite some time. Like everything in this program, your artist will adopt and adapt only what’s right for you. Let this process be like the best class you ever took.

Who’s reviewing? 

Before we look at ways to check in, be clear about who is doing the reviewing. 

Your inner critic? The part of you that compares yourself to others and is never satisfied? 

Or your inner champion? The part of you that reminds you that you are doing your creative projects because it lights you up? 

I invite you to look with curiosity, appreciation for your efforts and compassion. 

Any good relationship benefits from regularly checking in to see how it’s going. Rather than wait for a disruption or ‘block’, make regular dates. 

Make the review less of an accounting of what you did, but an opportunity to get to know your strengths and opportunities when it comes to your creative work. 

You can start with the surface stuff, and then inventory the qualities and skills it took to achieve that. In this way, you acknowledge yourself at a deep level.

At the beginning of the year, set your focus for your creativity. What is your Creative Edge? What do you want to focus your creative energy on this year? 

Fast-forward to the end of the year. What would be super great to end the year with? There will always be surprises and unplanned projects. 

Mid-Year Review 

Rather than let a whole year go by and risk not getting where you want, pause mid-year to check in with your artist and their goals. 

Taking time to reflect mid-year helps us to plan better, lower our expectations, and to be real with our capacity for the work. We will go through three processes to help you connect with your process and progress. 

Prompts: 

What do you know now about your creative process that you didn’t when you looked back at the last six months? How will you use this information for the next six months? 

Imagine you’re doing an annual review at the end of the year. What do you want to report for yourself? What do you want to see for your creative life then and what steps will you take now? 

Surprises and Expectations

I love to plan, and often things I plan don’t pan out. I opt for something else. That’s not wrong or bad. It’s worth noticing how our ideas of how things should go match up against how they actually go. What the Universe has in store for you may be different and better than your own ideas. 

Manage Expectations

Let me underline that - things often - dare I say rarely - go according to plan.

• We always want to get more done than we do. 

• We never have as much time as we imagine we do. 

• And our projects rarely end up the way we first imagine them. 

This inflated expectation of how it should be often leads to disappointment. Having too high expectations and not meeting those expectations gives our inner critic fodder for self-recrimination. This might seem harmless, but a constant nagging feeling, an environment of disappointment will not entice you to show up more. It deflates you.

End-of-Year Review  

This is a great way to check in and see how your plans panned out. It’s also fun to notice the surprises and things that you didn’t expect. 

Go through your calendar, photostream, and notebook. 

What do you see? 

Where did you veer off-plan? 

What did you choose instead? 

What values were you honoring this year? 

What are you proud of? 

You could also do a monthly review. I like to do a mind map in my journal for each month. This helps me see visually what I have on my plate. It keeps me on track with my creative focus of the month and helps me be with the immediate and on track with the bigger picture. 

INVITATION

Set up review dates now on your calendar. Set aside a couple of hours over several days to do this reflection process. It doesn’t have to take long, and it doesn’t have to be complicated. Consider making it a fun date with your artist with the special things they and you love. 

Affirmation: It’s a treat to slow down and take stock of my artist life.

In the comments: Share one of your favorite annual review practices.