A Seven-Piece Year in Review
An end-of-year reflection that produces seven Puzzle4Life™ pieces describing the year you actually had, not the one you planned.
For Anyone closing a year, a season, or a chapter · Updated 2026-08-04
Annual reviews usually measure a year against its plan, which mostly produces guilt. Reviewing by trait measures the year against what it demanded of you — a far more useful reading.
Work backwards through the calendar
Scroll your own calendar, photos, and messages month by month before you write anything. Memory alone reconstructs a much smaller year than the one you lived.
The seven questions
One piece per answer.
- What did this year ask of me most often?
- What did I get better at without noticing?
- What did I avoid?
- Who changed me?
- What did I give away?
- What ended?
- What am I carrying into next year?
Name the trait last
Answer in full sentences first. Only once the paragraph exists should you compress it into the single word that goes on the front of the piece.
Assemble and photograph
Lay the seven pieces out as a flower and photograph it with the date. Next year's review starts by looking at this photograph.