How to W.R.A.P up the Year

#LeadandLift | Episode 16 | Chabidaye Jaglal Ramnath

While at a Master Mind gathering, the person on the hot seat asked, “How do you wrap up the year and prepare for the new year?”

This question got me thinking about my own process involving the use of a framework. I love frameworks because I learn best with visual tools. For all you visual learners like me, the picture tells me so much more and acts as an easy-to-use guide. For all you audio learners, navigate to my podcast, Lead & Lift, to hear this information rather than read.

Today, I’m introducing you to the W.R.A.P. framework. Not only is it the perfect word for guiding you in wrapping up the year and preparing for the new year, but each letter stands for an action you will take to move forward with the intention to close out the past year and set yourself up for success in the next year.

Where to Start?

Focus on W for Wins first. It’s easy to start in a negative way, thinking of all the missed opportunities, botched plans, and obstacles that may or may not have prevented you from reaching last year’s goals. But I want you to start on a positive note and focus on the wins. There were 12 whole months in the previous year, I’m certain you had some wins in that time.

 The size of the win doesn’t matter. Whether it’s a big win or a small win, it’s still a win to be celebrated. Besides, the small wins can mean progression towards a bigger goal.

 Think of wins in both your personal and professional life. Think of wisdom gained. Think of goals achieved. Think about wealth.

We don’t want to always and only think of wealth, but it’s great to know the numbers you’re at so you can come up with a plan to see what the new numbers look like. When thinking of wealth, consider how much you made and how much you spent. This will allow you to see the possible imbalance that may need adjusted. 

Start by thinking about each month and ask yourself these 3 questions.

1.  What did I accomplish?
2. What achievements were earned?
3. What new skills did I learn?

One thing I set out to learn in 2021 was copywriting skills. I never had the opportunity to learn that in the corporate world. I also set out to learn website design. Both are wins in my book.

Throughout the year, I accomplished reading a book, Words that Work, and I connected with a coach to guide and teach me structure. I followed those actions up with a workshop, and each of those steps were wins towards the bigger goal. I now schedule time in my calendar to write – this includes the emails I send to you! I continue to work on my writing with the knowledge that my skills and competency will continue to improve. So focus on the wins, and keep moving forward.

What it Means to Reflect on the Past Year

When I think of R for Reflect, I envision looking in the car’s rearview mirror and seeing what’s behind me. Sometimes I reflect and feel I’m not as far as I want to be which can quickly feel sad and disappointing. However, pausing to reflect focuses your attention on how far you’ve come in the past year.

“Reflection is invaluable because it helps you chart a new course for your journey in the coming year.” 

Consider these questions to jumpstart your reflection:

1.  Was 2021 a learning year?
2. Were you trying to instill a new habit?
3. Did you start a new job or new business?
4. Are you happy with your relationships with your business and/or team members?
5. Does your work bring you fulfillment?
6. Any changes in your family such as new babies or loss of near and dear family members?
7. Are you spending enough time with your children?

As you reflect, you’ll be able to better evaluate where you are on the journey and what could be done differently. Most importantly, you should ask yourself: What are you happy with as you reflect? You can then determine your level of joy.

Based on your level of joy and happiness, you should consider what you’re not happy with so you’re not planning on doing more of what makes you unhappy in the following year. Sometimes just a little improvement or adjustment can increase your happiness level.

As I reflected, I realized I want to spend more time with my boys. Our time with our children is so short. Yes, sometimes they drive us nuts, and it feels like forever for them to get to 18, but in reality, we have a very short time with them. In considering that, I’ve adjusted my schedule this year to spend more time with my kids.

And don’t forget about your numbers you thought of when considering wins. What are you spending your money on? Is there anything you can cut? I don’t know about you, but I see a few subscriptions on my VISA bill like Netflix, Amazon Prime, Disney, etc. Now is the time to consider, do I really need all that or can I cancel some of them?

How to Use Future-Thinking to Set Goals

Now that you’ve had time to think about the wins and reflect on a deeper level, let’s focus on A for Accomplish.

What do you want to accomplish in the new year? For some of us, when we think of goal setting, a roadblock appears. It’s like looking at a blank word document and not knowing what to write or where to start. But you’re in luck! You’ve already listed your wins and reflected on the past year identifying some areas you’d like to improve, so now you know exactly where you’re at today. This gives you an idea as to where you want to go for the future.

“...make sure you’re intentional about where you want to go so you don’t spend 2022 drifting and living someone else’s dreams.”

Now timewarp with me to the future. You’re sitting down with the W.R.A.P. framework from 2021 and it worked! But now it’s December 2022. What wins would you like to have accomplished as you sit and reflect at the end of 2022? Think both personal and professional wins. What is your future self telling you to focus on?

You’re not just daydreaming, you’re defining and casting a vision for yourself. This is what you use for your 1 year goal as you look forward into 2022.

How to Plan with a Draft

The last part of the framework is P for Plan. I love this part. Because of coming from a project management background, planning comes easy for me.

You’ll be creating a draft plan. Yes, a DRAFT plan because guess what, plans change as you grow. As a guideline, you should create a plan at the high level for the year, but what I’d like for you to focus on, is breaking the year up into quarters. Think of it as 4 checkpoints for the year to get you to the end. Plan the details for the first quarter, and at the end of the first quarter, you’ll have a better idea of where you’re at. Then you can do more detailed planning for the second quarter.

Here’s a tip: When you think of planning, think about going to the mall. You’ll be leaving your house and the mall is your destination. You know the destination, however, there are many roads to get there. There’s a faster path, and there’s the longest path. You can make a travel plan to get to the mall, but the plan is only acting as a guide.

“Since you know your destination, if and when obstacles arise, you can simply detour and adjust to still end up at your final destination.”

Remember those quarterly checkpoints? Make sure you set some measures for each checkpoint.

If you’re new in the digital business, you’ll want to grow your email list – because we’ve all heard having an email list in a digital economy is the one and only greatest asset you have. If the plan is to grow the email list, you already know what number you’re starting with today. Maybe it’s 100. You also may know you want to grow the email list to 1,000 by the end of the year. Just by setting some measures, you’re able to identify how many new subscribers you need each month to hit the total of 1,000 in December. Each month as you grow your list, you can adjust your numbers and still know the forecasted goal is 1,000.

Why Try the W.R.A.P. Framework?

If you want 2022 to be different, my friend, you’ve got to do something different. As Albert Einstein said, “Insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results.”

I encourage you to try something new, and use the W.R.A.P. framework to structure and create your draft plan for 2022.

Block off 2 hours of time in your calendar. You worked all of 2021, you deserve 2 hours to plan for 2022.

Use your draft plan, set your measures, and each quarter take time to reflect on the wins, progress, and accomplishments being made towards each goal giving you momentum and motivation to continue moving forward. Remember, if it’s out of sight, it’s out of mind. Never lose sight of your draft plan and the goals will materialize.

INSPIRATIONAL QUOTES

Leave a 5-Star Rating & Positive Review on Apple Podcasts!

This helps me support more people - just like you- gain more joy and fulfillment in their business and personal life.

1. CLICK HERE to go to Lead and Lift.
2. Scroll down to Ratings & Reviews, then click the link "Write a Review."
3. Type in Title, Stars to Rate and your Review.
4. Click Save & that's it!
5. To Follow the podcast, click the "+" sign.

I have added bonus episodes from the first virtual Lead and Lift summit and I shall be adding more bonus episodes.  If you’re not following, then you may miss the episodes.  Follow now! 

Links mentioned in this episode:

• Chabidaye Facebook
• Chabidaye Instagram
• Chabidaye LinkedIn
• Chabidaye Website