#SketchnoteYourYear – the End-of-Year Sketchnote for 2021
It’s that time of year! The final days of 2021 are winding down. I am always behind at this point, but I am hoping to fit in year-end reflection questions, 2021 creative life planning questions, word of the year (WOTY) thinking, and my year-end sketchnote over the next few days. I hope you are doing the same!
The End-of-Year Sketchnote was, initially, a group challenge in the CMP community. While I don’t do nearly as much sketchnoting as I want, I consider sketchnoting to be an integral part of my #illustrateyourweek illustrated journal project. I love doing the end-of-year sketchnote as it gives me a really visual and focused look at the whole year.
The idea is simple: sketchnote the highlights of your creative year. This creates an illustrated summary of the year. It can be really beautiful in its own way. Mine are always jam-packed, chaotic, and somehow encapsulate an energy that I often don’t even realize runs as a creative undercurrent for me. When you focus on the day to day, it’s easy sometimes to lose the big picture. The sketchnote record of the year helps bring that into focus.
Of the two year-end reflections I do, this one is the one I enjoy most and find most valuable and meaningful later. I can see at a glance what rose to the top in my “looking back” process, some of the high-level numbers associated with the year’s creative work (and the podcast), and more. It is also the one that takes the most time.
I encourage you to do your own year-end sketchnote! (A sketchnote selfie is also a wonderful project. But in the December/January timeframe, doing a review or a planning-goal-based sketchnote for the new year can be an excellent and fun way to experiment with sketchnotes.)
Tip: The end-of-year questions for 2021 can help you gather the “fodder” you need to start building your sketchnote review.
Inspiration from the Podcast
To get inspired about sketchnoting, try hopscotching around in these older podcast episodes:
You may find that sketchnoting with a personal lens leads you into illustrated journaling, too. I’ve been leading #illustrateyourweek in 2020. You can find out more at Instagram.
Year-end Sketchnotes from prior years:
I don’t know what the 2021 Year-End Sketchnote will look like. It was a very different year than the years before. What I do know is that I probably won’t gather the information and really get this big-picture look if I don’t do this process. This year, my sketchnote will go in my illustrated journal.
If you do your own end-of-year sketchnote, tag it with #sketchnoteyouryear and tag me so I can see!
Related:
- Year-end Review – 2021
- Creative Life Planning – 2022
- Sketchnote Handbook
- Doodlebug
- Stuck in the Middle (of Middle School): A Novel in Doodles
- The Art of Visual Notetaking: An interactive guide to visual communication and sketchnoting
- The Doodle Revolution: Unlock the Power to Think Differently
- Episode 309: Doodle Dots
- Episode 305: Doodlebug
- Episode 260: Friendship
- Personal Documentation (a la Dear Data)
- Dear Data
- Observe, Collect, Draw!: A Visual Journal
- Eva Lotta Lam #sketchnoteselfie (inspiring example!)
- #sketchnoteselfie (Twitter)
