Your year-end checklist for success in 2026

Collect wins and plan for how to reach those goals

This week I’ve updated and brought back one of my early subscriber-only posts. Explore my full archive for more career insights and Q&As.

---

If you have ambitious plans for 2026 but aren’t sure where to start, set aside time to build a robust roadmap that reviews what you’ve done, what you want to do next year and how you plan to reach your goals.

Collect your wins in one place

Take stock of your year by compiling accomplishments. Gather top-line metrics that illustrate the reach of your work, your total output and the impact you’ve had. Did you influence legislation, reach readers your organization hasn’t historically served or make a subscriber’s day?

All that work can go into a Google Doc that you have at your fingertips to use for annual reviews, job applications or making the case for a promotion. And if you — like me — sometimes have trouble remembering everything you’ve done, take a look at your calendar. Sometimes old meetings can jog your memory. You can also talk to colleagues, check old notes or look at slide decks if you have them.

Bonus points if you start a resolution to try what Katie Hawkins-Gaar, writer of the My Sweet Dumb Brain newsletter, does and save wins in a folder to look at later.