2024 - Week 26 - 2024 Mid-year Review

Why Struggle? Podcast w Barbara J. Faison

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2024 - Week 26 - 2024 Mid-year Review

You can listen to this on my podcast - 8:40 mins or click the link here for the YouTube Channel version (audio only

This episode is about checking in with 2024.

We are halfway through 2024 so this week I decided to look back at some of the accomplishments and experiences I've had so far. I started doing this around 2018 after TD, my husband and I were having a conversation about the last time we had gone to visit his family in Tennessee…we couldn't remember when it was. After that I started writing down a year in review so that wouldn’t happen again. Lol

I had already been keeping a daily quick log of things I wanted to remember in mini journals, I would buy in 3 packs that would often have quotes on them like fascinating thoughts.

Most days of the week I do a quick note with the date and what I wanted to remember.

My journal from 2017 had a note on 9/23/17 that while we were on vacation in Panama City, Fl, a woman on the beach gave us 4 chairs and an umbrella because they were heading home and didn’t want to take them. A lovely reminder of the kindness of strangers.

A few examples of notes from my daily journal this year.

4.16.24 - no sweets or coffee

5.2.24 - student Mani Pedi at Beauty 21

5.7.24 - my friend Ade was in town for her birthday so we enjoyed Indian food for dinner

5.16.24 - A lady bug on my windshield. This is important because I used to call my mom ladybug and whenever a ladybug is nearby, it makes me feel that she is somewhere close watching over me.

Those are things I want to remember.

I think it was around 2018 I started doing the Review/Reflections for the year. It was a great way to recap what stood out that I wanted to remember. Using columns in Word or a OneNote document I added a header called 20__ Review. There are 12 columns with heading for each month and bullet points under each heading. Each month I write down something I want to remember about the month. Sometimes it's two things, sometimes it's 10 things. Sometimes it's an accomplishment and sometimes it's an experience.

My review goes like this, written in bullet form:

January

• Started a weekly newsletter that also serves as my podcast

• Birthday weekend with TD - dinner at Pier 42, American Fiction movie

March

• Recorded 14 Audio Description voiceovers for Accessible Chicago series

• Lunch with Susan

April

• Tybee Island Beach for the first time

• Day trip to meet with Regenna in Charlotte, NC

The Year in Review is a way of logging and tracking important moments in my life. I can print this out and keep them in order and capture the year. I couldn’t but so far, the reviews are just online. lol

Looking at my year in review, reminds me of where I've focused Money. Energy. Effort. Time.

The only way I can do my year in review is by referencing my mini journal with my daily activities. Ok, so you may be thinking, why don’t you use a day timer/planner? I tried to do that and I found that I ended up having a bunch of planner that took up space and I would have to go back and find the dates I wanted to remember. And that's where my small journals that are about 4" x 6" come in handy. I may not write in it every day although I do write in it several times a week to remind me of what has happened.

Daily there are opportunities to remind me where I want to M.E.E.T. life. When I make decisions I ask myself… what am I willing to commit - M.E.E.T. -Money. Energy. Effort. Time.

I log my daily or weekly important activities I want to remember in my mini journal that feeds into my Year In Review highlights sheet. Most days I also do a quick daily journal where I connect with how I feel about things and can go into more detail.

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