As the year closes we are all busy – busy going into the holiday season and busy thinking about next year. It’s all too easy to think about the things we want to improve and do better in 2012.
In the rush to optimize, tweak, improve, and maybe completely overhaul the way we are doing things, it’s important to take a moment and reflect and congratulate ourselves on all the things we did right and even the things that we tried but could have done better.
Before you sharpen your pencils or fire up your laptop to create a plan of attack for 2012, take some time to make an ‘I did’ list for 2011.
Resist the urge to critique, scold, or berate yourself for things you didn’t get to; you can tackle that stuff (if you wish) next year.
You’ll probably be surprised by all of the things you got done. This will feel good. It’s so easy to keep our sights on the next accomplishment, goal, or milestone that we forget how far we have come.
Give yourself a high-five, a bubble bath, a pedicure, or whatever you do to do treat yourself.
Being creative is hard. Running a small business is hard. What we’re doing here takes guts.
The sense of accomplishment and pride this little exercise generates will restore you, help you enter 2012 with a sense of your own competence, and give you the boost you need to tackle all your new plans with gusto and confidence.
Eleanor Mayrhofer is a recent escapee of Cubicle Nation. She currently blends her love of design, the expertise she gained in her professional career and her enthusiasm for small enterprise through 
I LOVE this idea–SO much! Celebrating is so important! I am especially proud of the things I’ve accomplished this year, and my list will include: Launching my city’s first monthly craft market, which has been highly successful and has received tons of press -and- picking up 12 store accounts in the past 6 months, bringing my business to a completely different level.
Can’t wait to round off the list!
What a terrific idea. I may have to post this idea! We are always so focused on next year, we forget to look back on the previous year and all we accomplished! Thanks for reminding me!
I love this idea too… especially thinking about any “failures” or hard times that didn’t happen and taking a lesson from them instead of dwelling on the negative. It can be so hard when it’s still so fresh!
Thanks for this! Not only have I been gearing up to plan for next year, but I’ve also wasted a lot of time focusing on what I DIDN’T do this year. What a bummer way to end my first year as a business, right?
Yeah. Time for a change of perspective. I’m going to sit down and write a more positive list now!
I did a lot more than I’m giving myself credit for! <3
[...] loved the article on scoutie girl today about making a 2011 “i did” list. it’s simply a list of all the goals and [...]
love this! i just wrote my own i did list and put it up on my blog. i needed to reflect on this today! so thank you.
My husband and I started doing this last year at our anniversary dinner.
We wrote a list of what we’d achieved during the year, and planned out some goals for this year.
Our anniversary is next week – it’ll be fun to see how we did!
So glad to see the responses here! Indeed, I pretty much wrote this post as a reminder to myself as well! I plan to work on mine on the plane flight back home for the Holidays next week
Eleanor,
This post made me so happy! When I think about it, I already have an “I did” list — I’ve been keeping a list of things I’m proud of since February of this year, and I make myself add to the bottom of it so I have to scroll past all my accomplishments.
I’m going to bookmark this post and share it with friends once the New Year’s Resolution craze starts. Better to start of a new year feeling proud instead of inadequate, I think.
– Sarah
What a great idea! I think this is a totally foreign idea in mainstream society right now, everyone focuses on their shortcomings and what they need to work on instead of reflecting and reveling in the amazing things you have done in the past year. I think I won’t even realize what I have accomplished in the last year until I sit down and write a list. Thank you for the inspiration!
Thanks for the reminder! I contemplated my ‘I Did’ list and shared in my blog. As much as moving forward to the new year is a great thing, it’s also a great thing to look back and celebrate the happy things of this year. Cheers!
Thank you so much for this post. I am a classic forgettor of what I did, so sitting down to make this list was just what I needed to launch me into next year. I shared the list on my blog and I’m excited others did as well. Thanks again!
Great idea! It is always good to reflect on what we’ve done already!
That is such a great idea…blogging about it! I’ll be doing that too…
[...] all my fellow Artisans and small business owners out there: I read a post by empapers on ScoutieGirl about making a list of accomplishments for the current year, before tackling that 2012 to-do list. [...]
I did that in a blog post right after Thanksgiving. It’s something I’ve done for years, and really helps me to feel good about the year. Not everyting gets done, but we are usually too hard on ourselves and focus on what we haven’t done. This exercise makes you focus on how hard you’ve worked, and your accomplishments. Take a moment to savor the moment and toast yourself before moving on to what’s next.
[...] am following Eleanor Mayrhofer’s suggestion (as seen on Scoutiegirl) of making a list of all I did in 2011 – highlighting everything I’ve created instead [...]
[...] got this idea from the Scoutie Girl Blog the other day and thought it was a good way to wind down the year. It’s true – too [...]
[...] few weeks ago I came across an alternative year-end closure exercise on Scoutie Girl that radically reframed my take on 2011. It is simple enough – list all the things you [...]