You've worked hard all year, so now's the time to enjoy a well-earned break and take some time to enjoy and celebrate your successes this year.

Whatever's happening for you - the end of one year and the start of the next is a great time to review your successes and challenges for the past year and there have certainly been a few for all of us.

With the recession still biting hard, governments and countries going into meltdown and powers beyond our control having an impact on all our lives, it can be hard to stay positive.

Set aside some time between now and the end of the year for an Annual Review and give yourself a pat on the back.

Get out your business plan and goals for the year, along with a sheet of paper and take note of the following.

What have you achieved this year? How many new clients did you gain, how much did you increase your income by? Were you above, below or on target?

What have you not been able to achieve? What got in your way or stopped you? Sometimes these are external factors, sometimes its internal blocks or lack of skills or knowledge. Don't worry about things that are outside of your control. There's not much we can do about them.

Sometimes our goals change during the course of the year. What seemed like a good idea at the start of year is no longer relevant. Our circumstances change, so we need to rethink our plans - another reason to review regularly.

What opportunities came up? - perhaps there were some you didn't expect or you were able to take advantage of during the course of the year?

What were your wins for the year? Focus on the positives - there are usually some in every situation.

On a personal level - complete the same review process. Think of all the different roles in your life - how did you do in each of those?

Start thinking about it now - carry a notebook with you so you can jot down some of your thoughts as you think of them, then set aside an hour or two or preferably half a day, later in the month or early next year to complete the review process.

You might be pleasantly surprised by how much you have achieved when you start to write it down.

Write down your achievements, successes and challenges on a piece of paper, document or spreadsheet. I've created a great spreadsheet which acts as a monthly action list as well as a review (email me if you'd like a template.)

How did you do overall? If you're able to achieve 70-80% of your goals you're doing well. If you achieve 100% of your goals you may need to challenge yourself more. If you're achieving less - perhaps your goals are too challenging or you're not focusing on them throughout the year.

Once you've reviewed this year, set aside another couple of hours before the end of the month or early next year, to write down your goals for the coming year - think about your work/life balance and have a mix of personal and business goals.

You might think you're too busy but this is time well spent. If you know where you are and you know where you were you can see if last year's roadmap worked and create a new one for this year.

Make each goal specific and give yourself measureable targets and milestones to work towards each month. (See my article on Goal Setting).

If you would like to review your strategy for 2012, give me a call or book a free Strategy Session.

Until next year.