Are you ready for 2021? That can be a loaded question most years but this year it seems that question could easily set someone off. Given our routines have been upended, we have been through so much emotional upheaval, and the next year is uncertain, in this episode I’m going to give you a different kind of New Year exercise that is designed to support you no matter how you’re feeling about the past year or year to come. Hello, I’m Jodi Flynn and welcome to the Women Taking the Lead podcast. I’m an executive leadership coach, author, speaker, workshop facilitator and I have the joy to work with women leaders who want to hone the skills that will allow them to thrive in Senior Leadership. I know I’ve met a woman I would love to work with when we start having a few laughs about our tendencies toward perfectionism and people pleasing. I had been living in Maine for the past 18 years, but I am currently in Massachusetts staying with family while I prepare to make my final move to Virginia. Thanks to the beauty of technology, I’ve been able to continue to work with women all over the world even in the midst of so much movement and transition. I do individual coaching as well as workshops and team retreats, and I am the current President of the board for The Maine Women's Conference. I spend my free time catching up with friends and family, coordinating my move to Virginia, and lately I’ve been cooking more family-style meals with my sister and nieces. I have a few more skills in the kitchen. Do you have a few more skills this year? For many of us, the pandemic added a lot of stress and new responsibilities but ironically, also freed up a lot of our time. Because extra-curriculars, travel (even local travel), and events were cancelled or cut back, we’ve found ourselves with more space on our calendars. This free time, and a desire to distract ourselves from the uncertainty of our situations, brought on a boom of indulging in new and old hobbies, and polishing some skills. Many of you have improved your cooking and baking skills, have quickly upgraded your technical skills, and even the grandparents have become old hats at video conferencing. As we start to plan for 2021 let’s take a quick look back at 2020. My first question for you to consider is, what skills have you gained or improved upon in the past year? Be sure to include tactical skills, which may include more facility around software or mastering a crochet loop, as well as soft skills, such as improved listening skills, asking better questions, or advocating for yourself. What has the year taught you? As you reflect on last year, think about what else you learned about yourself. Did you discover a new interest? Did you realize you’re not doing the work you want to be doing? Did you realize you’re definitely in the right field but would like to contribute in a different way? Did you learn something new about taking care of yourself or your energy? Did you learn something new about the people around you and what they need or don’t need from you? When you think about yourself in the past year, what are you most proud of? Use these questions as prompts but don’t limit your reflection to just these questions. Keep exploring how the past year has informed you. One more question about the past year, which will segue right into imagining the year to come. What was missing for you in the past year? There may be many answers to this question so again, don’t limit yourself to one or two answers. Some common answers I’ve heard from my clients is hugs, good communication, in-person events, the ability to shop leisurely, and travel. Those seem to the be the glaring items that were missing last year. But I’ve also been hearing: alone time, space to sit quietly and think, structure and accountability. Thinking about what you’ve learned about yourself in the past year, what would you like to bring into 2021? Thinking about what was missing in the past year, what would you like to create i