2026 Career Planning: The Energy, Values, and Direction audit

Most people do a vague 'year in review.' Then they set the same goals for 2026 that didn't work in 2025. Here's the framework I use to actually change direction.

What I notice about year-end reflection: People ask surface questions: "What went well? What didn't?"

Then they answer from memory. Not data.

They remember the big win, but forget the pattern that led to it. They remember the failure but don't analyze why. Then January 1st comes and they set "bigger, better" goals using the same system that didn't work.

Same input. Different expected outcome.

That's not planning. That's hope.

Here's what I actually do instead:

PART 1: THE CALENDAR AUDIT

Instead of "What went well?" I ask:  Where did I actually spend my time in 2024?

Open your calendar. Look at the last 12 months.

Where did you ACTUALLY spend your time?

- How many hours on your job?

- How many hours on side projects?

- How many hours on relationships, health, rest?

- How many hours of learning vs. content consumption?

- How many hours on reactive firefighting vs. strategic work?

Do the percentages match your values or your defaults?

There's usually a massive gap.

I thought I prioritized health. My calendar said 3 hours/month on fitness. The other 240 hours went to work.

My calendar told me the truth: I didn't actually value health as much as I claimed.

Do this for everything: high-impact work vs. busy work, relationships that matter vs. obligations, strategic projects vs. reactive tasks.
Your calendar doesn't lie. Your memory does.

PART 2: THE OUTCOME ANALYSIS

Now look at outcomes that moved you forward.

For every major win, ask: "What was the actual driver?"

Not "I worked hard." You worked hard in years you didn't advance.

For me: I thought promotion came from "working hard and being excellent."

Real answer: I got promoted because I made my work visible to decision-makers. I shifted from invisible excellence to strategic visibility.

That insight changed how I approach 2025.

I didn't set a goal of "work harder." I built a system of "create visibility for strategic work."

For every struggle, ask the same question: "Why didn't this happen?"

I didn't launch my side business. Easy answer: "Too busy."

Real answer: "I didn't have a clear offer. I didn't know my customer. I was waiting for perfect timing."

The blocker wasn't time. It was clarity and commitment.

Once I saw that, 2025 became: "Get clear on offer and customer. Commit to launch date. Remove optionality."

Find the actual driver. Not the story you tell yourself.

 PART 3: THE ALIGNMENT AUDIT

Ask: "Did 2024 move me toward what I want? Or did I execute someone else's plan?"

Here's what I discovered:
I spent 60% of my time on things I was good at but didn't care about.

• I spent 20% on things aligned with my values.

• I spent 20% on obligations.

• My time reflected: "Keep the job stable."

• My values reflected: "Build something meaningful, work with people I like, have autonomy."

• Massive misalignment.

So 2025 became: "How do I flip this ratio?"

Not "work harder," but "redesign where my time actually goes."

Here's the audit:
Make a list of everything you did in 2024 (major projects, commitments, roles).

For each, rate it:

• Energy: Does this energize or drain me? (1-10)

• Values: Does this align with what I actually care about? (Yes/No)

• Direction: Did this move me toward my vision or away from it? (Toward/Away/Neutral)

What you see is: "This is what I'm doing" vs. "This is what I should be doing."

That gap is where redesign happens.

For me: I was energized by coaching and teaching.

Drained by corporate sales mechanics.

My 2024 was 80% drained, 20% energized.

So I redesigned: Started building my coaching venture.

Positioned for roles that let me teach.

Built a business around what actually energized me.

 PART 4: THE PATTERN RECOGNITION

Now zoom out.

Look at your calendar audit + outcome analysis + alignment audit together.

What pattern emerges?

For me, three patterns appeared:

• I advance when I'm VISIBLE (not just excellent)

• I'm energized when I'm TEACHING (not just executing)

• I'm stuck when REACTIVE (vs. strategic)
  

Those patterns became my 2025 design:

1. Build visibility for strategic work

2. Create space for coaching/teaching

3. Shift to 80% strategic time (vs. reactive)

Everything in 2025 builds on those patterns.

• Not: "New Year, New Me" with random goals.

• But: "Here's what actually worked. Here's what energized me. Let me build more of that."

 PART 5: THE 2025 DESIGN

Based on those patterns, here's what I designed:

• Visibility: I'll speak at 3 conferences, publish weekly LinkedIn posts, re-launch my podcast. (aggressively scaled it to rank in Apple’s top 200 in business & close to 600,000 downloads in 2025)

• Energy: I'll build coaching programs (vs. pure corporate sales).

• Strategic Mode: I'll protect 20 hours/week for CEO work.

These aren't "SMART goals." They're specific DESIGN decisions built on patterns.

Notice they're different from "Lose 20 lbs, read 12 books, network more."

They're designed from data, not inspiration.

 THE REAL INSIGHT:

Most people fail with New Year's goals because they're not built on analysis.

They're built on hope.

The system that didn't work in 2025 predicts the goals that won't work in 2026.

Unless you redesign based on what you learned.

That's what this framework does.

It's not reflection. It's systematic redesign.

 YOUR HOMEWORK:

Do this audit before setting 2026 goals:

1. Calendar audit: Where did you actually spend time?

2. Outcome analysis: What was the actual driver of your wins and struggles?

3. Alignment audit: Did you move toward what you care about? (Rate your projects.)

4. Pattern recognition: What pattern emerges? What worked? What energized you?

5. Design 2025: Based on patterns, what do you redesign? (Not goals, but design changes.)

This is what I do before every year.

And it's the difference between "New Year, New Goals (that fail by February)" and "Here's what I learned, here's how I'm redesigning, here's what changes."

If you do this audit and realize your 2025 wasn't aligned with your values: that you spent most of your time on things that didn't matter….  this is what my Career Accelerator teaches.

Not just "set better goals."

But "design your career, your career goals and life so your time, energy, and focus align with what you actually care about."

Most of us grind on someone else's priorities.

An audit often reveals that pretty quickly.

If you want help with that redesign:

Comment "REDESIGN" and let's talk about what 2025 could look like if you actually designed it. You can also APPLY to the Career accelerator here and I’ll be in touch.

(Most people after doing this audit realize: "I need help with this. I can't figure out my vision and redesign alone." That's what coaching is for. I got you.)