What's going to be different about next year?

Are you finishing the year in a flurry?

Is your steady state reactive — running on a rat wheel?

Or is it reflective, focused, and intentional?

As the year winds down (or rather vanishes before your eyes as it sometimes feels!), it’s natural to feel pulled in two directions. There’s the practical part of us that wants to finish strong, tick off the last of the list, and tie everything up neatly. And then there’s the quieter part that senses a need to pause — to look back, take stock, and look forward with clarity and hope.

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Strategic thinking isn’t about perfection

Being a strategic thinker isn’t about being perfectly zen, endlessly productive, or always in control. It’s not about chasing tidy goals all neatly tied up with a bow — to-do lists ticked off daily, milestones achieved exactly as planned.

Strategic thinking is about being able to move through the inevitable messiness of life and work, and still have an anchor to come back to that helps you to stay on track. It’s having a process for finding focus when distractions pull you off course. It’s knowing you can return to what matters most — again and again — and having confidence that you will. It’s also about giving yourself permission not to achieve it all. To let go of the things that matter, but matter less.

So, what’s going to be different next year?

Reflecting on this year

Think back over the past year. How much of what you’ve achieved was what you actually set out to achieve? I’m not talking about the projects ticked off or tasks completed. Think bigger.

What’s the big needle you’ve moved?

Is it the one you intended to move? If not, is it one you’re glad you moved anyway? Was it a worthwhile distraction — or just a reaction to noise?

The point isn’t to judge, but to notice. To notice how much of what you achieved this year came from strategy — and how much came from momentum, habit, or circumstance.

A five-year hindsight perspective

Now stretch that reflection further. Over the past five years, what did you set out to achieve? Have your goals shifted — and did they shift intentionally?

We can’t always control the headwinds that hit us. Life changes. Roles evolve. Priorities compete. Sometimes adapting our goals is the most strategic thing we can do. But the question is — have you been intentional in that adaptation?

How much of your progress over the past five years has been deliberate and strategic, and how much has been reactive?

If you’d been more strategic — more anchored, more focused — would you be in the same place you’re in now?

What needs to be different?

So here’s the real question: What’s the big needle you need to move next year?

And just as importantly — what needs to be different for that needle to move by this time next year?

It could be the way you focus. The way you protect time for deep thinking. The clarity of your goals. Or simply how you respond when things go off course. Whatever it is, make it conscious. Strategic is conscious. Don’t wait for the new year to change you — decide now what you’ll change about the new year.

Strategic thinking doesn’t remove the chaos. It gives you a way to navigate it. It’s about anchoring yourself in what truly matters, being intentional about your energy and focus, and adjusting your course when the headwinds hit.

Want to go deeper?

If you’d like to make next year the one where you lead with more clarity, focus and confidence — not just in the plan you set, but in how you think — I’d love to help you develop and strengthen that strategic muscle.

Explore the Strategic Thinker Development Programme or one of my shorter workshops to start shaping the difference you want to see by this time next year.

If you liked this, sign up for my articles straight to your inbox, check out my website, follow me on LinkedIn, or contact me on nina@ninafield.co.nz to discuss how I can help you with strategic thinking and strategic leadership development.