In a moment when the funding landscape has been unstable, institutions have been unpredictable, and many of you have been carrying more emotional and intellectual weight than ever, it can feel self-indulgent to pause and look back. But this practice isn’t about creating a tidy narrative of the year. It’s about locating yourself again — your values, your choices, your direction — so you can step into the new year with clarity and intention.

Below, you’ll find all of the questions from my long-standing end-of-year reflection practice, along with a new set of prompts that speak directly to the realities of 2025.

Take your time with these. Paste these questions into a fresh document and give yourself an hour or two to really reflect. Let the answers come slowly if they need to.

REFLECTION QUESTIONS — Looking Back

1. What went well this year?
 2. What did I do that helped those things go well?
 3. What accomplishment or milestone did I not celebrate enough?
 4. What didn’t go well this year?
 5. What did I learn from what didn’t go well?
 6. What else do I need to reflect on so that I can do better going forward?
 7. What do I want to remember about this year?
 (Think beyond achievements — consider character, values, and how you showed up.)
 8. How did I stay true to my values this year?
 9. What am I most proud of?

REFLECTION QUESTIONS — 2025-Specific

This year brought its own challenges. These questions are designed to help you integrate what 2025 required of you.

10. What did I hold together this year that no one saw?
 11. Which values guided me when external rules or expectations kept changing?
 12. When things felt unstable, what choices did I make that I’m proud of?
 13. What did I learn about my capacity under pressure?
 14. What did I stop tolerating this year?
 15. What did this year reveal about what I no longer want for my career?
 16. Where did I find steadiness, connection, or meaning — even in small moments?
 17. What did I learn about the kind of researcher, colleague, or leader I want to be going forward?
 18. What expectations or habits did I let go of — and what space did that open up?
 19. Despite everything, what persisted in me?

INTENTION-SETTING QUESTIONS — Looking Ahead

20. What do I want?
 (For the next year — or further out.)
 21. Who do I need to become to make that possible?
 22. What kind of internal or external transformation is required?
 23. What lessons or insights from this year do I want to carry forward?
 24. What am I most looking forward to in 2026, and why?
 25. What am I worried about or dreading, and why?
 26. How do I want to show up this coming year — for myself, my loved ones, my colleagues, my community?
 27. What makes it easier or harder to show up that way?

BONUS: Optional Closing Prompt

If next December’s version of me could write me a note, what would she thank me for?

Interested in joining the next cohort of K to R Essentials? Join the waitlist at https://sarahdobson.co/k2r