I thought I could get by without a Personal Review for one year. Or at least I thought I would skip mine.

Then I thought that you probably don’t need a reminder either. Who will notice if I don’t send? Who has time to do a Personal Review anyway?

Then I thought again. (There’s been a lot of thinking going on.) It’s a terrible idea to skip the personal review. And it’s a worse idea to let you think it’s okay to skip it.

As an entrepreneur, it’s critical to review actions and to celebrate accomplishments before moving on to the next phase. We’ll never Improve our results until we understand where we are and how we got here. [Tweet this]

So, it’s time to look back on your year and assess your progress.

This year, try using the elements of The See Plan – the 8 C’s – to structure your questions: creativity, commitment, Clarity, community, connection, Confidence, completion, and celebration.

Grab a notebook and a pen and get started.

1. Challenging Creativity

What artistic medium or skill did you attempt or master?
What creative project was uncomfortable but helped you grow as an artist?
What new art events, galleries, and museums did you visit?
What art seminars/workshops/lectures/classes did you participate in or teach?
How did you improve your studio habits?
What business seminars/workshops/lectures/classes did you participate in?

What creative challenge do you think you benefited from most?
How will you challenge your creativity next year?

2. Demonstrating Commitment

Were you happy with the studio hours you put in? Describe, explain.
Where did you exhibit or retail your art?
What grants, projects, or residencies did you apply for?
How many blog posts, newsletters, or articles did you write and with what regularity?

When did you take action that was uncomfortable, but that moved you forward?
How can you increase your commitment level next year?

3. Seeking Clarity

How did you do on setting goals and staying on top of them?
How did you strategize?
What resources did you discover?
What technological skills did you learn or improve?
How did you make time for regular planning?

Where did you have an aha moment that gave you clarity?
Where do you need more clarity for next year?

4. Nurturing Community

Who supported you – in any way – during the year?
What organizations were you involved with?
How did you help someone else out?
In what ways were you a leader in your art community?

How did you effectively nurture community around your art?
What changes will you make next year?

5. Cultivation Connection

Who were the top ten cool or influential people you met?
How many people did you add to your mailing list?
How did you use your mailing list?
How many social media followers did you gain on the various platforms you use?

What made the biggest difference in your marketing?
How can you improve your marketing next year?

6. Building Confidence

What did you do to enhance your professional reputation?
When did you give a gallery talk or lecture?
What classes or workshops did you teach, and how many students did you have?
Where did you introduce yourself to a valuable new connection?
What was your practice for writing about your art?

What gave you the most confidence this year?
What do you need to do to improve your confidence next year?

7. Completing

What new marketing material did you develop and use?
How did you follow up with people and opportunities?
How did you track your growth, and what did you find?

What did you finish this year that was difficult or was a long time coming?
How will you improve your completion process next year?

8. Celebrating

What grants/honors/awards did you receive?

How did you acknowledge and reward yourself for your successes?
How will you celebrate in the New Year?

Your Turn

What was the single best thing that happened to your art career in 2015?

I’d love it if you shared this in a comment below so we can celebrate with you.