How to Reflect on Your Year Through Journalling
- Brainz Magazine
- 5 days ago
- 7 min read
Anna is a journalling coach and wellbeing advocate on a mission to share the transformative power of writing with 100,000 people. Through her company, Writing with Purpose, she helps women navigate life’s challenges and rediscover their joy through creative expression and nature connection, alongside hosting the Writing with Purpose podcast.
Scrolling through your phone at the year’s end reveals a story you didn't know you were writing. Between work deadlines and daily routines, meaningful moments can blur into background noise. What if you could reclaim those experiences, understand what they reveal, and use that insight to shape the year ahead? This is the powerful practice of reflection, because looking back creates clarity for what comes next.
What is reflection?
Reflection is the conscious practice of reviewing experiences to extract meaning and learning. Unlike passive reminiscing, structured reflection involves examining what happened, how you responded, and what patterns emerge. Psychologist John Dewey described reflection as active, persistent, and careful consideration of any belief or supposed form of knowledge in the light of the grounds that support it. Through reflection, experiences transform from isolated events into connected insights that inform future decisions.
When you reflect on journal entries, you're not simply re-reading words. You're observing your past self from a new vantage point, noticing patterns you couldn't see while living through the experience. This metacognitive process, which is thinking about your thinking, builds self-awareness and emotional intelligence over time.
Why reflection matters
Research from Harvard Business School found that employees who spent 15 minutes at the end of the day reflecting on lessons learnt performed 23 percent better on assessments than those who didn't reflect. The study, published in the Journal of Applied Psychology, demonstrates that reflection isn't a luxury but a performance tool.
Neuroscientist Dr Mary Helen Immordino-Yang's research at the University of Southern California reveals that reflection activates the brain's default mode network, the same neural system responsible for creativity, problem-solving, and meaning-making. Without regular reflection, you risk operating on autopilot, responding to life rather than consciously shaping it. Learn more about journalling and the brain.
For women experiencing life transitions, whether perimenopause, career shifts, or relationship changes, reflection provides a stabilising anchor. It offers proof that you've successfully handled challenges before, building confidence for what lies ahead.
The reflection sentence technique
After writing a journal entry, add one reflection sentence before closing your notebook. This simple habit transforms writing from documentation into insight. Start your reflection with one of these prompts:
When I read this back, I notice...
I wonder...
What makes me curious is...
This technique works because it creates cognitive distance. You step outside the immediate emotion and observe your experience as data. What patterns appear? What assumptions influenced your response? What would you do differently next time?
At the end of the year, these reflection sentences become especially valuable because they're concentrated wisdom about what mattered throughout the past twelve months of living.
How to review your year
Gather three sources of evidence about your year, your phone's photo roll, your diary or calendar, and any journals you've kept. Set aside an hour when you won't be interrupted.
Start with your photos. Scroll through the entire year, pausing when an image triggers a memory. Don't judge whether moments are important enough. Notice what catches your attention. Your photos reveal what mattered to you, even when you weren't consciously paying attention.
Next, review your diary or calendar. What patterns emerge? When were you busiest? What commitments took most of your energy? What did you prioritise? Calendars show where you allocated time, which often differs from where you wanted to spend it.
Finally, if you've kept a journal, read through your entries. Notice recurring themes. What problems appeared multiple times? What brought consistent joy? What relationships deepened or changed? Your journal captures the emotional data that photos and calendars can't.
As you review, write notes about what you observe. Use coloured pens, circle words, and underline sentences. These become the foundation for deeper reflection techniques.
The captured moment technique
Select five to ten photographs from your year. Choose images that spark something, such as joy, pride, surprise, or even discomfort. For each photo, write for five minutes without stopping. Describe what you remember, who was there, what was said, how you felt, and what happened next. Capture all the details and nuances.
The captured moment technique works because photographs act as memory anchors. A single image can unlock details you thought you'd forgotten, conversations, weather, and the feeling in a room. Writing these details preserves them and reveals their significance.
After writing about each photograph, add a reflection sentence. What does this moment reveal about what matters to you? What would you like to experience more of next year?
Gratitude journalling for year-end
Research by Dr Robert Emmons at the University of California demonstrates that regular gratitude practice increases well-being, strengthens relationships, and improves physical health. Year-end is ideal for gratitude reflection because you're reviewing accumulated experiences rather than forcing daily appreciation when nothing feels noteworthy. See this article on gratitude journalling to learn more about the benefits.
Create three lists:
people you're grateful for,
experiences you're grateful for,
challenges you're thankful to have handled.
For each item, write one specific sentence explaining why. Specificity matters. I'm grateful for my partner carries less impact than I'm grateful James brought me tea every morning when I was struggling with the project deadline.
Don't limit gratitude to positive experiences. What difficult situations taught you something valuable? Which challenges revealed your resilience? Acknowledging hard-won growth builds confidence for facing future obstacles.
Using the clustering technique
Clustering, thought to have been developed by Gabriele Rico, is a non-linear brainstorming technique that reveals unexpected connections. Start with My Year in the centre of a blank page. Around it, write words or short phrases that capture significant moments, feelings, achievements, challenges, and relationships.
Don't organise thoughts. Let them flow naturally. Connect related items with lines. Circle clusters that form. This visual mapping engages your brain's spatial reasoning, often surfacing insights that linear writing misses.
After creating your cluster, write for ten minutes about the patterns you notice.
What connections surprise you?
What receives more space on the page than you expected?
What's missing that you assumed would be prominent?
Celebrating your successes
List every achievement from the past year, regardless of size. Include the big ones, such as promotions, completed projects, and health milestones, alongside the small victories, which might be difficult conversations you handled well, habits you maintained, or moments you chose rest over pushing through.
We're conditioned to dismiss our accomplishments, particularly women who often downplay their capabilities. Writing a comprehensive list of successes counters this tendency. Each item is evidence of your competence and growth.
For each success, note what skills or qualities made it possible. Did you demonstrate persistence? Creativity? The ability to ask for help? Recognising these patterns shows you precisely what resources you bring to future challenges.
Acknowledging challenges
Honest reflection includes difficulties. What did not go as planned? What relationships struggled? What goals remain unmet? Write these down without self-criticism. You are gathering data, not passing judgment.
For each challenge, ask:
What was within my control? What was not?
What would I do differently with today's knowledge?
What support did I need that was not available?
These questions separate regret from learning.
Some challenges remain unresolved, and that is okay. Note what you have learnt about managing ongoing difficulties. Has your approach evolved? What coping strategies proved effective? How have you grown in your capacity to handle uncertainty?
Making reflection a family practice
Year-end reflection works beautifully as a family activity. Gather everyone who shares your household, partners, children, and even extended family if they are visiting, and give them paper and pens.
Ask everyone to draw or write about their favourite moment from the year. Young children can draw pictures. Teenagers might write a few sentences. Adults can write more extensively. Spend ten to fifteen minutes on individual reflection, then share what you have created.
This practice serves multiple purposes. Children develop emotional literacy by naming and processing experiences. Teenagers practise articulating what matters to them. Adults gain insight into what family members value and remember. You might discover that your teenager's favourite moment was an ordinary Saturday morning, not the expensive holiday you planned.
Create a family reflection tradition. Some families keep a shared journal where everyone adds their favourite moment each month, whereas others create an annual photo book with written memories. These become treasured records of how your family grows and changes.
Reflection beyond year-end
While year-end creates a natural pause for reflection, you do not need to wait twelve months. Apply these techniques quarterly, monthly, or weekly. The timeframe changes, but the process remains valuable.
Quarterly reflection helps you adjust course before an entire year passes. Take time to review what worked and what did not, what patterns emerge, and what needs to change. This is particularly effective for high-performing professionals.
Monthly reflection takes fifteen minutes. Flip through your calendar and photos. Write about your most significant moment and one thing you learnt. This regular practice prevents year-end overwhelm by helping you remember the past twelve months at once.
Weekly, write one reflection sentence and note one intention for the week ahead. This rhythm keeps you connected to your experiences rather than letting them blur together.
The more frequently you reflect, the more skilled you become at noticing patterns and extracting insight. Reflection becomes a habit rather than an annual chore.
Begin your reflection practice
Year-end reflection does not require elaborate preparation. You need a notebook, an hour of uninterrupted time, and a willingness to look honestly at your year. Start with whichever technique resonates most or try new ones.
The insights you gain will inform how you approach the year ahead. You will understand what energises you, what drains you, and what patterns you want to change. This clarity is the foundation for intentional living.
If you would like guidance in developing a reflection practice that works for your life, book a Journalling Audit consultation. Together, we will identify techniques that match your learning style and create a sustainable practice for the year ahead.
Read more from Anna Woolliscroft
Anna Woolliscroft, Writing for Wellbeing Specialist
As a certified Journal to the Self Instructor and holder of a Master's in Creative Writing and Wellbeing, Anna guides women in reclaiming their purpose through proven journalling techniques and creative writing strategies. From climbing Mount Kilimanjaro to transitioning her marketing business into meaningful work, Anna has learned that transformation begins with honest self-reflection. Whether through live workshops, on-demand training, self-learning resources, or her podcast featuring therapeutic writing experts, Anna's mission remains clear: to share the life-changing power of intentional writing with 100,000 people over the next decade, helping women move from feeling stuck to living with clarity and confidence.
