Welcome to the new year! I hope you enjoyed some enriching time around the Christmas holiday and are continuing to do so as we ring in the new year.1
Maybe you’ve focused simply on being with those who matter most to you. Maybe you’ve spent extra time on a hobby you don’t normally get to do or any number of other recreative activities.
At the end of one year and the beginning of the next, it’s somewhat more common for the generally frenetic pace of life to slow, however modestly. And that slight ebb can provide valuable space to pause and reflect.
Looking Back
The past few years have had some unique challenges, to say the least. But with 2023 now in the books, there’s an opportune time look back over the year.
Freedom for your focus and imagination to wander can be an important aid in fostering creativity and insight.2
So, while you’re unplugged from your regular routine, you may be able to think more profitably and with more perspective about that routine. You can take stock of what worked, what didn’t, what went well, and what you’d like to do better moving forward.
You can think about the unexpected that happened, as well as the unexpected things that you really could have anticipated. And you can consider the buffers you had (or didn’t have) to cushion the impact of the unexpected that you couldn’t anticipate.3
As you do so, be sure to reflect on your life personally, as well as professionally. You are, after all, a whole person. And it’s no good letting the wheels fall off either side of the cart. You want them both working together in the days, months, and year ahead.
I’ve recently done this kind of yearly review myself, and it’s always a helpful experience.
Looking Ahead
As your mind moves forward to next year, as it naturally will, start thinking about what you want to accomplish in it.
As you do, I’d encourage you not to do too much with these thoughts just yet. This is especially true for the time you’ve planned (and maybe committed to others) in which you’re stepping back from your regular academic activities.
Instead, take full advantage of any space the end of one year and beginning of the next provides to be, do, and think in other ways than you’re able to in your week-to-week routine in the rest of the year.
But definitely capture your reflections someplace where you can come back to them. Even scribbling a few, brief notes in a notebook can help.
That way, they won’t get lost or forgotten (which they’re pretty liable to do otherwise). You’ll also free mental space that you’ll otherwise find taken up, even if subconsciously.4
Conclusion
As you’re thinking along these lines, you might think of something you’d like to see me discuss here this year. If so, certainly let me know.
I want to ensure I’m giving you the best help I can to hone your craft as a biblical scholar. So, in the next few weeks, I’ll be going through all of the feedback I’ve gotten about what you might find helpful and planning how to try to help with that as the year goes by.
Meanwhile, all the best for a wonderful New Year’s!
Header image provided by Annie Spratt. ↩
Chris Bailey, Hyperfocus: How to Manage Your Attention in a World of Distraction (affiliate disclosure; New York: Viking, 2018), 133–58. ↩
Greg McKeown, Essentialism: The Disciplined Pursuit of Less (affiliate disclosure; New York: Crown Business, 2014), 175–84. ↩
David Allen, Getting Things Done: The Art of Stress-Free Productivity (affiliate disclosure; New York: Penguin, 2003), 23–26. ↩
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