Truth be told: A year-end self-evaluation can be helpful, but only if it’s honest
Before you embark on a plan for 2022, it’s a good idea to look back at the previous 12 months to see what you did wrong, what you did right and what you didn’t do at all. Using a personal self-review to find solutions to some of your problems at work — whether it’s spending less time answering emails or
less money loading up on the daily $8 smoothie — may be less complicated than you think. To reach new goals, you’ll first need to go through an honest assessment of your good and bad habits, your successful and not-so-successful projects and your enthusiasm for what you do and where you do it.
Here are a few ways to approach an honest self-evaluation.
1. Be honest: No compromising on the truth when you’re listing your workrelated attributes and habits. Feel free to ask others for input or use what others have said or written about you in 2021 as background but the true assessment has to come from you. That means those projects that others deemed successful but hardly were indicative of
your potential get listed in the “need to improve” column. If you’re being honest, you’ll be able to identify the areas you can address in 2022 and beyond.
2. Consider the good and the bad: Face it — it’s been a weird couple of years so don’t be afraid to work that into your own evaluation. A balance chart
can be a helpful tool when determining what works and what doesn’t, whether you’re at home or in the office. Draw a line down the center of a page — career coach James Merchant suggests writing the first draft of your self-evaluation in pen or pencil to create more of a direct connection to your thoughts — and label one side with a plus sign and the other with a minus sign. Write down the things you’ve done well on the plus side and those areas where you’ve fallen short on the other. Accomplishments don’t have
to be ground-breaking. Something as simple as “took a 30-minute walk during lunch most days” could be one. “Stopped wasting time on Instagram during the day” could be another. On the flipside, negatives can be “inconsistent effort in the morning” or “don’t offer enough input during meetings.”
3. Switch perspectives: Try to use the perspective of a client or co-worker
that you value as an employee. Don’t necessarily try to put yourself in the evaluating shoes of your friends at work. Instead, view yourself through the lens of a manager you admire or a co-worker who has a stellar reputation at the office. Consider their viewpoint on whether
you’re pulling your weight by asking for new projects or making yourself
available to others when they need help.