The Beauty of a Year-End Audit, and How to Get Started
Can you hear Life saying "thanks for noticing?"
Dear Beautiful Friends,
There are still sixteen days to go in 2023.
Shall we make these the BEST DAYS EVER!?
Kidding. We’re not on emotional steroids here. We’re going to have all kinds of days from here through Dec 31—wonderful, horrible, uninspired, relaxed & cozy, a surprise here and there—because that’s what's going to happen, AND—
Instead, let’s see what the hell actually happened this year❣️
Last week I wrote about What to Do With December, and included my favorite year-end activity: excavating the year, month by month, aka the Year End Audit.
Doing a Year End Audit is pretty simple, but to help you along, I’ve laid out a step-by-step How To, with an example of my first page, January (below).
AND: The next monthly Salon for Beauty Hunters will focus on year-end audits (doing them, talking about them) on Wednesday, December 20, 12 - 1 pm PST.
The word “audit” might not sound very silky or inviting; the word itself lacks a heartbeat. Perfect. We want to approach these audits just like a data-collecting accountant and stay as neutral and impersonal as possible. As always, let the emotions run freely; it’s my suggestion to stay judgment-free during the process.
READY?
Read on, and if you’d like to print this out on Google docs, you can download here.
Year-End Audit: Instructions
First, you’ll need:
💥Notebook or fresh document
💥2023 calendar and any other memory-jogging material (i.e., photos).
💥The most neutral, non-judgmental lens you can muster.
Set aside some time, just as you might if you were having a coffee catchup with a good friend—but your friend is your writing medium of choice. (If you do it with a pal or pals, even better.) Thirty minutes, hours, a month at a time—the audit doesn’t have to happen all at once.
Some years I’ve bought a special large unlined spiral notebook, but one year I wasn’t feeling it and slammed it out on a Word file.
Remember: you don’t have to do this with a lot of feeling.
Think: it’s an excavation into what the hell happened in 2023.
Note: I ended up doing 10 months of my audit the other morning, completely unplanned while having coffee in bed. I dropped everything into a medium-sized half-filled unlined binder.Have your calendar/scheduler handy. Write January at the top of the page. At least, that’s where I start.
List every event, activity, first-of/last-of, and worth-remembering experience for that month.
For fun, see what you can recall from memory*. Then, consult your calendar, scroll through photos, social media or whatever makes sense, inspires you, and is helpful to carry your audit through to the end.
*Confession: I could not do this until halfway through the year.
And keep going, month by month. Here’s an example of what might go into your audit, and a screenshot of mine:
January
Event
Activity
New experience
Mood
First-time
Who you saw, what you did
Anything you remember or wants to be remembered
Photos
There’s no *one way* to do this. I started this pre-iPhone, and have kept my process pretty low-fi. You might want to do the entire audit with photos, or include snaps from your camera roll, add music. OOoh, a soundtrack would be cool!
What’s important is that you get in here and do the audit, so keep it simple.
In case examples help, here’s my January:
When your year’s audit is complete—
Also join us next Wednesday, 12 - 1 pm to talk out our audits (and do them) at the Salon for Beauty Hunters!
Look over your year’s audit—the list, the photos, however you represented it. Take your time. Review everything as neutrally & non-judgmentally as possible.
What stands out, what occurs to you, what surprises you? You can apply any number of questions–here are some to get you started.
Is there a general theme, tone or pattern to each month? Or by season?
What did you notice about the pacing of the year?
What did you love about the year & would you like to expand on anything in 2024.
What is missing? (And what should stay missing?)
Surprises
Where/how does the energy of the year flow?
What did the audit show you that you A) knew deep down but didn’t articulate, B) didn’t realize consciously or C) were trying to make happen that you might really want to let go of?
If you “named” each month, what name would you give it?
If you “themed” each month, what word or phrase would it get?
From this, is there a word, phrase, theme, challenge, or desire that appears, something you can take with you into 2024?
You also might want to close the notebook immediately upon completion. If you come to the salon next Wednesday, that can be an opportunity to look it over in the company of other existential explorers. You don’t have to share anything you don’t want to. And if you do, it can be impressions, themes, and general patterns.
If you want to talk more about your experience or make sense out of what you’re seeing, respond to this email, or email me at: tatyana@everydaycreative.net
Life thanks you for noticing.
Beauty Hunter thanks you for playing.
Xo
Tatyana
Beauty Hunter, on Substack