2024 is halfway behind us. This middle point in the year feels like a good time to pause and reflect. Reflection is a thought leader’s superpower, but most people don’t pause to reflect often enough.
So, I invite you to save these prompts and pull them out when you’re feeling relaxed, rested, and creative. I used them to fuel my own reflection after a long, low-key vacation when my brain was feeling calm (see view above, which inspired the calm).
Ready? Let’s reflect.
Mid-year reflection: Try these prompts
What’s giving you energy?
Do an energy inventory. Make a list of all the projects you’ve worked on this year—for me, I can just pull a list of all the invoices I’ve sent this year. Maybe you can get a bird’s-eye view of your work by looking back at your calendar, inbox, or recent files.
Then scan through the list and ask:
✨Which projects have been exciting, creatively fulfilling, and intellectually challenging?
✨Which kinds of work do I want to do MORE of?
✨What am I most proud of?
✨Which kinds of work have been draining or negative?
✨Which projects do I want to LET GO of?
✨What’s MISSING from the list that I want to ADD?
What have you learned?
Consider what you’ve learned this year using that same inventory of your work.
💡What mistakes have I made?
💡What new ideas did I try out?
💡What changes did I make?
💡What did I learn that I want to carry into the rest of the year?
💡I’m itching to think more about ___________.
💡One thing I haven’t figured out yet that I want to explore is ___________.
💡A new experiment I could try is ___________.
What do you want to accomplish and explore?
Now, picture yourself six months from now, doing this same exercise at the end of the year. And ask yourself:
🏆When I look back at 2024, I hope I’ve succeeded at ___________.
🏆I want these adjectives to describe my work this year: ___________, ___________, and ___________.
🏆I’ll be really happy at the end of the year if I have ___________.
Write one paragraph about your work in the first half of 2024.
The first three groups of prompts are about reflecting on your progress and understanding where you’ve been and where you want to go.
Now, consider how you’ve shared these insights. Does anyone else know about your work, the lessons you’ve learned, and what you’re curious to explore next?
Look back on your answers above and write one paragraph that sums up your reflections.
Here’s a template. Fill in the blanks:
In the first half of 2024, my biggest accomplishments were __________. I learned that I want to do more __________ and less __________. I tried some new things: __________ and learned __________.
In the second half of the year, I want to explore __________ and think more about __________. My goal for 2024 is to __________.
Maybe you never share this paragraph with anyone — maybe it’s just for your own reflection and processing. But maybe you can share it in your next performance review, maybe it’s fodder for a conversation with your team, or maybe it’s a LinkedIn post or a new article idea.
At the least, you now have a new perspective and a deeper understanding of your feelings about your work.
