NicoleRecently, I talked to a writer who reflected on her year. At first, it was tough to her what she said. She described having spent months and months without submitting a single project. A whole quarter of 2024 gone — or so she thought.
But when we went deeper, something beautiful emerged:
- She had spent 2-3 months diving into research, reading, and planning
- It felt like lost time, but really it unearthed bigger ideas for her writing.
- That groundwork transformed her months to follow and led to writinf flow and publications!
By the end of her recap, she was celebrating:
- 25,000 words written
- 4 pieces submitted
- another 4,000 words written
- a 5th piece submitted just before the end of the year
The writer summarised her year:
“All in all, not a bad year!”
It’s amazing how one shift in perspective can change everything. Failures are learning. Slow times are preparation for flow.
That’s the kind of reflection I want for you. To help you see your wins of the last 12 months, understand what happened in the “quiet months”, and uncover the insights hiding in what you think of as “failures.”
So, here’s a short version of my 3-step process I use with my writing clients to tease out hidden wins, reframe slow months, and reveal what truly matters at the end of the year (you can get the full version in my journalMy Writing Year in Review). Just like the writer above, you can rewrite your story, right now.
I recommend taking pen and paper and spending a few minutes answering the prompts — and see if there’s a mini shift happening. You can go through this in a 30min session, or tackle each section day by day, as you find a minute to yourself. Cozy up with a warm blanket and a cup of tea, and use these prompts to explore your growth, embrace your creativity, and set empowering intentions for the year ahead.
This is the essential first step to walk into 2025 with confidence, clarity, and a plan to get your projects to the finish line.
Part 1: Celebrate Your Wins: The Key to Writing with Joy
As writers, it’s so easy to fall into the “gap mindset” — focusing on what we didn’t finish, the deadlines we missed, or the projects still waiting for our attention. But that perspective doesn’t nourish your creativity or motivation.
Instead, let’s create a gain mindset. This means celebrating the progress you’ve made, no matter how small, and shifting your attention to the positive steps you’ve taken as a writer this year.
That’s why the first section is all about celebrating your wins and shifting into a state of gratitude. It’s not just a feel-good exercise — it’s a powerful tool to boost your motivation and self-compassion as you step into another 12 months of writing.
Here are your prompts to journal about.
Count your wins
- Start listing all big and small moments of progress. Did you finish a chapter? Brainstorm a new idea? Have a moment of creative flow? Write it all down.
- Name the project you’re most proud of and why. This is your time to celebrate you. Recognise the effort, courage, or creativity that went into this piece.
Feel the joy
- Think about when writing felt easy, joyful, or exciting. What contributed to these moments?
- List the people who supported you this year — whether through collaboration, encouragement, or simply cheering you on. (You might want to email or text them to thank them)
When you complete this section and answer these questions, take a moment to savour the warm buzz of gratitude — for yourself and for the people who’ve been in your corner.
And here’s the beauty: it doesn’t matter how many words you wrote this year. What matters is that you showed up, tried, and kept going.
This is the exact process I guide all my 1–1 clients through at the start of our sessions, at the end of year, and any time they feel like they’re falling short. Why? Because it’s that powerful to shift into gratitude and a ‘gain’ mindset.
In part 2, I’ll coach you through the next section — reflecting on challenges. We’ll uncover hidden lessons and create a foundation for growth in the months ahead. You won’t want to miss it!
Part 2: Reflect on Challenges
Above, we celebrated your wins — the moments of progress, joy, and connection that defined your writing year. Now, we’ll use my process to turn our attention to your challenges.
This might feel like a harder step, and that’s okay. Reflecting on what didn’t work is a courageous act that creates emotional clarity and builds resilience.
Naming our challenges can reduce their emotional weight. When we gently examine what held us back, we begin to shift our mindset from frustration and pain to compassion and problem-solving. Instead of feeling stuck, we see opportunities to grow.
Name Your Challenges
- What felt difficult last year? Where did you feel stuck or blocked? Simply naming them helps you take the first step toward understanding.
- Were there patterns that got in the way? Procrastination, overcommitment, or perfectionism, perhaps? With kindness, note how these habits impacted your writing.
Listen to Your Body
- When you think of things that didn’t go well, where do you feel tension or discomfort?
- Can you breathe into this area and let it be seen? This simple practice releases stored tension and helps you reconnect with your creative energy.
By working through this section, you’re moving from reacting to your challenges to responding to them with self-awareness. This process allows you to gently reframe challenges — not as obstacles, but as stepping stones toward growth.
It’s about showing up with compassion for yourself and your writing journey.
Because procrastination is often pain avoidance. If you have a hazy feeling that your year went badly, but you don’t fully turn towards the challenges, you’re continuing that underlying pain (and procrastination).
Next, we’ll dive into the final part: reframing and finding balance. We’ll look at the lessons hidden in the struggles you just reflected on, and begin crafting the mindset you need for a strong start to your next chapter.
You’re doing amazing work already. Read on.
Part 3: Reframe and Recenter
So far, you’ve reflected on your wins and challenges — two essential steps in understanding your writing year. Now, we’ll move into one of the most transformative parts of this process: Reframe and Recenter.
This step is vital — it bridges the gap between where you’ve been and where you’re heading. Skipping this step is like rushing to plant seeds without first tending to the soil (and trust me, as someone with an allotment now, I know the importance of this step!).
Reframing isn’t about ignoring your challenges or glossing over struggles. It’s about taking a compassionate, thoughtful look at your experiences and finding the value within them. When you take time to reflect on the lessons and express gratitude for your efforts, you reset your mindset and build resilience. This is what prepares you for the visioning and goal-setting steps to come.
I use this exact process in my coaching, and it’s where so many of my clients have their biggest breakthroughs. They discover that even their “failures” were vital stepping stones for growth. I also got into the habit of asking myself, “how is this serving me?”
It’s a step that mustn’t be missed — so let’s dive in.
Practice gratitude and learning
- Write a letter to your Past Self. Thank yourself for all the effort you put into your writing this past year. Acknowledge the courage it took to show up.
- Feel your body as you write this. Where do you sense gratitude? Let it settle into you as you write.
Find the Lessons in Setbacks
- Look at your challenges from a distance and ask, What did I learn from this?
- Maybe you discovered the importance of saying no to certain commitments? Maybe you realised that creative risks — even when they don’t work out — are essential stepping stones for future growth.
Finding the “gold of insight” in difficult times is a powerful habit to build, and these pages are designed to help you uncover it — not just now, but whenever you face challenges in the future.
The Mindset Shift from this Process
Reframing your struggles moves you into gratitude and aligns your mind and body with possibility. It’s like clearing out the clutter in a room — you’re making space for new ideas, dreams, and growth.
This process is powerful because it honours all of your experiences — the wins, the struggles, and everything in between — as essential parts of your writing journey. Most of my coaching work consists of weekly recaps, learning, and moving forward. And you can do this yourself at the end of the year and beyond with your prompts above.
Once this is completed, you can move into the final step: Waking up and creating a vision for the year ahead. With everything you’ve learned so far, you’ll be ready to imagine your next chapter with clarity, hope, and excitement.
You’re on the brink of something amazing.
Enjoy your reflection!
