2025 is coming to a close, and you’re about to miss a golden opportunity.
Before you rush into 2026, take a moment to flex your goal crusher muscles and learn from 2025. Use this simple tool to turn a whole year of experience into momentum.
Hi, I’m Coach Tony. This is a Project Manage Your Life (PMYL) Pro Tip. It’s one of the tools I use to help people set better goals, stay consistent, and actually finish what they start.
Ready for a dad joke?
Before we dive in, here's a groan-worthy dad joke as a little palette cleanser. I promise it will be worth every penny you paid for it. 😂
I used to teach origami, but I had to give it up. Too much paperwork.
3… 2… 1… One Final Tool to Close Out 2025
There are only a few hours left in 2025 before this year gets filed away as “done.”
Your Spotify listening has been Wrapped.
Your Strava workouts are locked into your Year In Sport.
The news is already running highlight reels of the good, the bad, and the downright ugly moments from 2025.
Everyone seems busy reviewing the year.
But what about you?
Have you actually paused to look at what this year gave you, taught you, or tried to tell you?
Before we rush into goal setting, resolutions (if you really must), or big declarations about 2026, there’s one final move worth making.
A simple, powerful exercise to help you close out 2025 with intention and step into 2026 with confidence.
Hint: it’s totally retro.
Retro Is In
One of my favorite tools for growth, both professionally and personally, is the retrospective.
In project management, work happens in short, repeatable sprints. You do the work, then you pause. Not to overanalyze. Not to relive every decision. Just to look at what worked, what didn’t, and what you’d do differently next time.
That pause is the retrospective.
Real talk: if you’re one of my readers, this probably doesn’t come naturally.
Most high-achievers are wired to finish, check the box, and immediately move on to the next thing. That habit is efficient, but it also skips the moment where real improvement happens.
A retrospective is a deliberate interruption to that pattern.
At natural transition points like the end of a goal, a quarter, or a year, a retrospective gives you a simple way to extract value from your experience before you move on. You reflect on what went well, what didn’t, and what you want to carry forward into what’s next.
That’s it. Simple. Honest. Useful.
I’m such a believer in this approach that retrospectives are built directly into my Project Manage Your Life system. I use them biweekly, and every coaching session I run is structured around the same idea. Look back with intention, then move forward with clarity.
Let’s Get Retro Together
Still with me?
Good. Let’s do your 2025 retrospective together.
Retrospective Template
We’ll start by creating a simple template you can reuse again and again. I could give you one to download, but honestly, this takes about thirty seconds to make.
Grab a blank sheet of paper and write 2025 Retrospective at the top.
Now divide the page into four equal quadrants.
In the northwest quadrant, the upper left, draw a smiley face.
In the northeast quadrant, the upper right, draw a frowning face.
In the southwest quadrant, the bottom left, draw a flower. Don’t overthink it. Stick figures are welcome here.
In the final quadrant, the southeast, draw a lightbulb.
That’s your template. You can reuse this for every retrospective you ever do. Just change the title at the top.
Now let’s reflect on everything that happened in 2025.
What Went Well?
Start with the smiles quadrant.
What went well in 2025 that you would absolutely repeat if you were doing the year over again?
Jot down your top five to seven things. Don’t overthink it. Don’t judge any of it. Go with what comes to mind first because those are usually the most impactful.
Five to seven is just a guideline. There are no rules in life. If you have more, keep going.
What Didn’t Go Well?
Next up, the frowns quadrant.
What didn’t go well in 2025? What would you rather not repeat?
Again, jot down five to seven of the most impactful items without overthinking. You’re just capturing information here. You don’t need to relive the experience to learn from it.
What Are You Grateful For?
Now for my favorite quadrant. The flowers.
What people, moments, or experiences from 2025 are you most grateful for?
Same process. Write down five to seven things or people that stand out. If you have more, keep going.
💡 Pro tip: if you wrote down people, consider actually telling them. Give them the flowers. Symbolically or literally.
What Are Your Ideas for the Future?
The final quadrant is where reflection turns into action. This is your lightbulb space.
Based on everything you just captured, what ideas do you have for what you want to accomplish in 2026?
Write down five to seven ideas. These are not commitments yet. They’re signals. Patterns. Things worth exploring.
💡 Pro tip: once you’ve listed your ideas, the next step is turning them into clear goals. The Project Manage Your Life Workbook walks you through that step by step.
And that’s it.
You’ve completed your 2025 retrospective. You’ve extracted the value from the year, good and bad, and you’re no longer carrying it blindly into 2026.
Most importantly, you didn’t just review 2025. You converted it into actions you can use in 2026.
Don’t Stop There
With your retrospective in hand, you now have a list of real ideas for 2026. But ideas alone won’t make 2026 your best year yet.
If you want to turn your 2025 lightbulbs into real smiles in 2026, you need momentum. I have two ways to help you start building it.
Step 1: Say It Out Loud
One of the most powerful ways to create momentum is to say your goals out loud to another human.
That’s why I’m hosting a Say It Out Loud Goal Crusher Coffee Chat on 12/29.
This free, online conversation is a 2026 goal-sharing roundtable where you can voice your goals to others. Not for feedback. Not for judgment. Just to stop keeping them private and fragile.
Click below for details and to register.
Reading this after 12/29? No problem. I host Goal Crusher Coffee Chats regularly, and each one has a different theme. Use the same link to see what’s coming up next.
Step 2: Start Strong with the Starter Kit
If you want to eliminate guesswork and follow a proven process, this is where the Project Manage Your Life Starter Kit comes in.
It’s a DIY bundle of the same tools I use with coaching clients, plus a guided mini course that walks you through the process one clear, non-overwhelming step at a time.
If you want structure, clarity, and momentum without pressure, this is the fastest way to start.
💥 There are just a few hours left in 2025. Instead of letting the year quietly fade away, take a few minutes to learn from it. A simple year-end retrospective can turn your 2025 experiences into momentum and help you step into 2026 with confidence.
✨ I believe in you. Let me help YOU believe in you!
Meet Coach Tony
Tony Weaver is a master life coach, technologist, consultant, writer, and founder of Operation Melt.
He helps project managers and other left-brained high-achievers pursue their biggest goals.
Through free resources, personalized coaching, and his proven Project Manage Your Life system, Tony empowers clients to move their dreams from “someday” to success… one step at a time.
Learn more about Project Manage Your Life, the system my clients and I use to crush our goals, at OperationMelt.com/PMYL/
Meet Coach Tony