TRANSFORM YOUR YEAR: A PROVEN TECHNIQUE FOR ACHIEVING NEW YEAR’S RESOLUTIONS AT WORK AND HOME
Increase your New Year’s resolution success with my “Dear Me” letter technique. December is the time to write your “Dear Me” letter for 2024—reflect, prepare, and confidently step into the new year!
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December is my “go-to” time for planning for success in the upcoming new year. As each year draws to a close, I take this time to first reflect on how it went—asking myself three questions:
- What did I enjoy?
- What did I not enjoy?
- What do I want to change?
(A great technique for the above step is my 80/20 Reflection PowerPlay™ to shift your perspective.)
This process of reflection helps me think about what I want from the coming year. It’s all about being intentional, and not letting the new year “just happen.”
Dear Me
Today, I’m sharing my “Dear Me” letter approach that I have used for more than five years, and it has been a gamechanger in my results. This is also a popular leadership technique with my executive coaching clients.
Imagine the upcoming year with what you will have accomplished, what you will have felt, and how you will have spent your 365 days. Visualize where you should be and how you should feel by the end of 2024.
The process of writing this letter will cause you to slow down and contemplate the next 12 months.
For your “Dear Me” New Year Resolutions letter, begin with three headers.
- For your organization/team
- For yourself at work as a leader
- For yourself personally outside of work
Write the letter with the end of year in mind. What do you wish/hope for yourself, in each of those areas? Be as specific as possible.
Here are some questions to consider:
- What did you do or accomplish in these areas? (This doesn’t necessarily mean you must have the item completed by year’s end.)
- How do you feel—emotionally, physically, mentally?
- Did you learn something new? Visit a new place?
- How did you “show up” during the year at work? At home?
- For these three areas, what is different at the end of the year compared to the beginning?
Once you have written the letter, print four copies. Place each in its own envelope, and date them March 31, June 30, September 30, and December 31. Take the first one and tape or tack it to your desk/wall.
As each date passes, open that envelope and read it. Reflect on how you did each quarter toward achieving the hopes/wishes in your letter. Resolve what you need to keep doing, add, or change. What were your obstacles? What happened that you didn’t expect? And how did you respond?
Use your letters as your “blazes”—markers on the trail that ensure you are on the right path. Then your destination will be realized!
Ready to get started? Download Your Copy of the Dear Me PowerPlay™.
This article was originally published in 2021 and updated for 2023.
