We have entered the fourth quarter of this year? Can you believe how quickly 2016 has flown by?  With this year quickly coming to a close, how are you planning to end your year? Have you met all of your goals? Most importantly, are you prepared for your end-of-year performance review?

I will be honest with you, I absolutely hated them.  I didn’t like going through my own review and I wasn’t all that comfortable giving them. That all changed once I learned to keep and office journal during the course of the year. This journal helps me keep track of my goals and accomplishments.

I find that I am more productive when I have a written plan on how to attack my day, week, or year. Keeping a journal or daily planner can be the key to keeping track of progress at the office.

Honestly, I really didn’t start to make moves at the office until I decided to sit down and map out how I wanted my career to go. At the start of each year, I sit down with my journal and set goals for that year and I also map out I want to achieve those goals.

Having this journal makes it so much easier to prepare for my end of year review. Here are some key things you need to do to get ready for your review.

1. Prepare a list of all your accomplishments for the year.

2. Be prepared to talk about your performance during the year. You should be prepared to lead this conversation.

3. Have questions for your manager about their expectations. You also need to have a discussion on things you can improve on.

4. Be sure to go into the meeting with an open mind and a calm spirit. Please don’t go in there with an attitude. Trust me, it will not help you any.

Start preparing now for your review, to present your best case. Here's to an amazing end-of- year review.