The Ten Best Year Yet Questions
1. What did I accomplish?
2. What were my biggest disappointments?
3. What did I learn?
4. How do I limit myself and how can I stop?
5. What are my personal values?
6. What roles do I play in my life?
7. What is my major focus for the next year?
8. What are my goals for each role?
9. What are my top ten goals for the next year?
10. How can I make sure I achieve them?

Five years ago, I picked up this book on a whim for about six pounds in Mysteries bookshop near Seven Dials in London. Shortly before new year's, I got together with a few friends and went through the ten questions listed on the back cover of the book, creating in the process a one-page "Best Year Yet" plan. Not only was the next year my best year yet, I have repeated the process every December since, (sometimes on my own, sometimes with friends), and each passing year has once again become my "best year yet".

Last year for the first time my business partner and I sat down and did the process for our then suffering enterprise; suffice it to say that despite the occasional hiccup, our bank manager is once again our friend!

The author is also an executive coach, and while many of the models she uses are not original, (she borrows particularly heavily from Steven Covey's seven habits), they are universally useful and occasionally reap (for me) surprising results. Despite the interesting stories, examples, and insights, this is far more of a "doing" book than a "reading" book, and it includes a complete do it youself Best Year Yet workshop in the back.

Beyond highly recommended!

Today's Experiment - Your Best Year Yet, Part One (approx. time - 1 hour):
(In order to get full value from this process, I highly recommend investing in the book and following the clearly laid out steps. What follows is a shorter, simplified version which reflects some of the ways in which I have adapted the process for myself and my clients. Consider saving up this and the following two DCT's and completing the three experiments over the next few weeks!)

1.Draw a line down the center of a piece of paper. Label the left hand column "Accomplishments" and the right hand column "Disappointments".

2. Fill up the columns as best you can - be aware that it is worth returning to each list at least three times, as some of your proudest accomplishments and most painful disappointments will "hide" when you first go looking for them.

3. Draw a line down the center of another piece of paper. This time, label the left hand column "What I learned" and the right hand column "Guiding Principles".

4. Go through your list of disappointments. For each one, write down what you learned from your experience in the left-hand column. Repeat the process with your list of accomplishments.

5. Go through your list of learnings and star the most significant insights. Aim for at least three and no more than seven.

6. Now, for each insight that you starred, write a "guiding principle" in the right hand column which will remind you to apply that insight as you go through your life over the next year.
Examples:
Disappointment - Our house has wound up costing us far more than we expected.
Learning - It pays to overestimate expenses
Guiding Principle - Always add 25% to the mental price tag!

Accomplishment - Getting a good agent
Learning - The clearer I am about what I want, the easier it is for me to create
Guiding Principle - Clarity is power. Have fun, learn heaps, and remember - the best way to predict the future is to create it!