Should you do an annual review? 📔

Hey there! Imagine this: It’s December 2025. The past year was your year—you landed that promotion you’ve wanted for months, you led bigger and better projects, and you wrapped up work early almost every day.

And where it all started? You signed up for my free Excel class on Pivot Tables and Data Visualization.

Save your spot and let’s make next year the best one yet! ✨ 

Is Your Vision 20/20? 👁️

Here’s a wild fact—only 35% of adults have 20/20 vision without glasses, contacts, or surgery. That means that if your boss asks you to find the latest transaction from the training department below ⤵️ your eyes will likely work overtime to spot the right data. 

Let’s simplify that search (and save your eyeballs in the process 🙃). 

Don’t Forget to Join Our Free Excel Class!

I know what you might be thinking: “Is a free one-hour Excel class worth it?”

Let me put it this way: This class will give you the tools to simplify Excel so you can save a minimum of three hours a week at the office. If you multiply those saved hours with the average of 52 work weeks? That’s nearly 156 hours you get back. 😮 

So don’t forget to join our class on Pivot Tables and Data Visualization! As Mitchell will tell you, it’s a great time:

Snag your spot today!

Is an Annual Review Worth It? 📔

With only 14 days left of 2024 (wild right?), you’ve likely seen journaling advice everywhere. “Reflect on 2024! Plan for 2025! Write it all down!” 

And you might be wondering: Is it worth it? Will sitting down, reflecting on the past, and planning for the future actually change anything? 

My two cents? Yes. I’ve been doing annual reviews for years and know a ton of my personal and professional growth is thanks to this single activity. Here are three reasons why I love giving myself an annual review: 

1. 👐 Deeper gratitude 

When you reflect on the past year—what you accomplished, what you overcame—you realize just how far you’ve come. It’s a moment to feel grateful for exactly where you are, which is rare when we’re always chasing the next thing.

And gratitude is a powerful feeling. It comes with a ton of positive side effects, from reduced stress to improved sleep (just to name a few!).  

2. ✍️ Better encoding 

When you write down your goals, you’re tapping into encoding, a biological process in which your brain decides what’s worth storing in your long-term memory and what’s worth forgetting. 

Writing strengthens the encoding process. In other words? Writing down your goals makes you more likely to remember and then act on them. 

3. 🫧 Forced clarity  

The wildest part about an annual review? Answering why you want what you want next year might make you realize…you don’t actually want it. This clarity can save you months (even years!) of heading down the wrong path. 

That’s the power of a great question: It reveals what truly matters to you. And speaking of great questions, here are my favorite three to answer in my annual review: 

1️⃣ Based on your experiences in 2024, what do you want to do differently in 2025? New areas you want to explore or changes you want to make? 

2️⃣ What are you most grateful for in 2024? Is there anything you want more of that in 2025? 

3️⃣ What would you do if you knew you couldn’t fail? And—just as important—what would you still want to do, even if you knew you’d fail? 

Happy journaling (and Happy New Year! 🎉). 

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• Need to see all of your flagged emails? This new Outlook tip can help! 

• Three smart ways to hide your zeros in your Excel spreadsheet. 

• Forecasting in Excel doesn’t require a bajillion hours. Try this instead. 👀

• This person on Reddit shared the morning routine that changed their life. ☀️

Thanks for reading! Scrambling to find a gift for your friends and family? Gift them a Miss Excel course! It’s the perfect present for someone ready to level up their career in 2025 (and land that promotion they’ve wanted for months 👀). Plus, you don’t have to wrap it!

While we’re here, I won’t be in your inbox next week. Enjoy your holidays and see you in the new year! 🎄

Stay Exceling,

Kat