Annual review questionnaire

Start by thinking in terms of behaviour, not intention. Forget what you planned to focus on or what you believe you value. Look at how your days actually played out. Where did your attention go repeatedly? What did you give the best hours of your day to, and what tended to get what was left over? If you’re unsure, think in weeks rather than the whole year, then notice what kept showing up across most of them.

A useful answer is concrete and sometimes uncomfortable. It might be “firefighting at work”, “scrolling and distraction in the evenings”, “maintaining a relationship that was already fading”, or “slow, steady progress on one meaningful project”. The value comes from naming reality clearly, without justification or defence. Once you see where your time and energy truly went, everything else in this review has something solid to stand on.

Think back over the year and look for moments where a relatively small amount of effort produced an outsized result. These are often easy to miss because they don’t always feel dramatic at the time. They might show up as a single decision, a habit you stuck with briefly, a conversation you almost didn’t have, or a change that removed friction rather than added more work.

A strong answer names the effort and the return clearly. For example, “having weekly check-ins instead of daily ones improved both focus and morale”, “saying no to one commitment freed up energy across everything else”, or “spending time upfront clarifying a problem saved months of rework”. The aim is to spot where leverage exists in your life, so you can recognise what’s worth repeating or protecting going forward.

Approach this by looking for patterns where effort kept going in, but little changed as a result. These are not one-off mistakes. They are activities, commitments, or ways of operating that repeatedly take time or energy while quietly giving very little back. Pay attention to anything that feels heavy, obligatory, or endlessly “in progress” without clear movement.

A useful answer is specific and honest. It might be “endless tweaking instead of shipping”, “trying to keep everyone happy”, “overpreparing for situations that didn’t need it”, or “maintaining routines that looked good on paper but added stress”. Naming these drains matters because they often survive on autopilot. Once they’re visible, it becomes much harder to justify carrying them into another year.

Think about issues that didn’t just appear once, but kept coming back in slightly different forms. These are problems you probably spent time trying to fix, manage, or work around, yet they never fully went away. Instead of listing symptoms, try to identify the underlying problem that keeps generating them.

A strong answer might sound like “constantly feeling rushed despite changing my schedule”, “repeated conflicts around the same boundary”, or “losing momentum after an initial burst of motivation”. The value here comes from recognising where your usual fixes weren’t enough. Problems that resurface often point to deeper causes, flawed assumptions, or avoidance, all of which are important signals for what actually needs to change.

It helps to think about situations you knew, at some level, required your attention, but that you kept postponing, minimising, or working around. Avoidance often hides behind busyness, rational explanations, or the hope that things will resolve themselves. Instead of focusing on why you avoided something, focus first on what you left untouched.

A valuable answer names both the avoided issue and its price. That cost might show up as prolonged stress, lost opportunities, strained relationships, declining health, or a general sense of stagnation. Being explicit about the cost matters because it turns avoidance from an abstract habit into something tangible. This question creates a clear link between what you didn’t face and the consequences you lived with as a result.

Approach this by rewinding to the beginning of the year and recalling what you took for granted at the time. These assumptions often felt reasonable then and may not have been consciously stated. They might have been beliefs about what would matter, how people would behave, how much capacity you had, or what would lead to progress or happiness.

A strong answer names the assumption and how reality challenged it. For example, “I assumed working harder would fix the problem, but it mostly led to burnout”, “I thought this goal would motivate me, but it drained me instead”, or “I believed I had to wait for certainty before acting, and that kept me stuck”. The value comes from updating your mental model. Seeing where your assumptions broke down reduces the chance of building the next year on the same faulty premises.

Reflect on how much of your life has been spent in each of these stages: struggling, coping, and flourishing. Have there been long periods where you’ve felt overwhelmed and stuck in survival mode, just managing to get by? How much of your life has been about coping, keeping things together, but not necessarily thriving?

Now think about the times when you’ve truly flourished—when everything felt aligned, fulfilling, and you were making meaningful progress. Where do you stand right now? Is coping enough, or do you want more moments of flourishing?

Consider how simplifying your life might bring more opportunities to flourish. What if, instead of adding more tasks, goals, and responsibilities, you focused on bringing higher quality to the things that matter most? Simplifying could help shift you from merely coping to thriving in the areas that bring you the most satisfaction.

Take a hard look at what you're doing with your life right now. If you continue on this path for another 20 years, what will you have to sacrifice? Will you be giving up your dreams, your passions, or even your happiness? Picture yourself looking back after all that time - how will you feel knowing you’ve spent decades doing something that doesn’t fulfil you?

Ask yourself what’s holding you back. If it’s not a matter of timing or circumstance, then it’s likely fear. Fear of failure, fear of change, or fear of the unknown. But think about the cost of staying still. How many opportunities will you miss by not taking action? Most mistakes can be fixed, but time can’t be recovered. The key to moving forward is to start taking action, however small, and make that your habit.

If you had died yesterday, what would you regret the most? Would it be unfulfilled dreams, missed opportunities to express love, or not pursuing passions that mattered to you? Perhaps it's something you always wanted to say or do but kept putting off, or maybe it's time you wished you had spent differently - more time with your family, or focusing on things that brought you true joy.

Reflect on what comes to mind first. This might give you a powerful clue about what truly matters to you and what changes you could make now to avoid future regrets. It’s a chance to refocus your priorities and start living in alignment with what’s most important to you.

Think about the habits or routines you’ve developed this year that have had a positive impact on your life. Maybe you’ve started a consistent morning routine, dedicated more time to exercise, made space for mindfulness, or improved your time management.

Consider how these habits have benefited you - whether it’s increased productivity, better mental or physical health, or simply more balance in your life. Now, reflect on which of these habits you’d like to carry forward into the next year, and how you can ensure they remain a core part of your daily or weekly routine.

Consider the possibility that everything in your life might be fine and complete just as it is. You might be wired to constantly seek more, always chasing the next achievement or improvement, which can leave you in a cycle of feeling perpetually unfulfilled.

What if you allowed yourself to be content with what you already have? Reflect on the idea that happiness might not come from getting more, but from appreciating the life you’ve built. Could it be that you’re already in a place where you have enough to be satisfied and happy? Shifting your mindset to embrace contentment could bring a sense of peace and fulfilment, even without striving for more.