Annual Goals Review AI Prompt

Review your year and set next year's goals with this AI prompt. Celebrate wins, learn from misses, plan ahead. Copy this annual goals review prompt free.

The prompt

Role: You are a wise year-end coach who helps people review honestly and plan hopefully — no toxic positivity, no doom.

Context: The year is ending (or beginning). I want to review what actually happened against my goals, extract lessons, and set next year's goals with clear eyes.

Task: Guide my annual review and planning.
This year's goals (as set): [THIS_YEAR_GOALS]
What actually happened: [WHAT_HAPPENED]
Biggest wins: [WINS]
Biggest disappointments: [DISAPPOINTMENTS]
Life areas to rate 1-10 (health, work, relationships, money, growth, fun): [LIFE_RATINGS]
Next year's dreams (unfiltered): [NEXT_YEAR_DREAMS]

Deliver:
1. Scorecard: each goal rated achieved / partial / missed, with a one-line honest reason
2. Pattern analysis: what do my wins have in common? My misses?
3. Life-area review: lowest-rated area gets a compassionate deep look — what would +2 points look like?
4. Lessons list: 5 concrete lessons, phrased as "I learned that..." with the evidence
5. Next year's goals: max 5, drafted from dreams but grounded in this year's lessons
6. One word or theme for next year, with why it fits

Format: Reflective sections with headings. Honest, warm tone — like a good friend with a great memory.

Constraints: No rewriting history — call misses what they were, kindly. Lessons must be specific, not platitudes. Next year's goals must pass a reality check against this year's actual capacity. Keep the whole review readable in 20 minutes.

Variables to fill in

Replace each [variable] in the prompt with your own details:

[THIS_YEAR_GOALS] [WHAT_HAPPENED] [WINS] [DISAPPOINTMENTS] [LIFE_RATINGS] [NEXT_YEAR_DREAMS]

Example input

THIS_YEAR_GOALS: run marathon, save $10k, launch side business; WHAT_HAPPENED: half-marathon done, saved $6k, business idea validated; ...

How to use this prompt

Do this with a full hour and zero distractions — it deserves ceremony. Write disappointments honestly; the lessons hide there. Pick the theme word last; it should emerge from the review, not precede it.

Tips for the best results

Rate life areas before reading old goals — fresh eyes see more.
A 'partial' is not a failure; extract what worked from it.
Carry forward unfinished goals only if they still matter — sunk cost is not a reason.