Stock-Taking. How To Do It And Why It Is Important!

Estimated reading time: 11 minutes

What is stock-taking, and why should you do it? Is it important and does the work pay off? Today I want us to take a look at this and therefore plan intentionally for the coming year. As we fast approach the end of the year, we often move on to the next year and forget to evaluate how our year was. Often maybe because things are not going as planned. Or having goals we want to accomplish the following year, we ignore the current year. And sometimes even say things like in with the new, out with the old. Don’t get me wrong, it is always great to have the moving forward mentality, but it is important to take stock of the year. After all, how can you be effective in your next when you don’t analyze your current, reevaluate, and intentionally plan for your next?

How will you know how to change when you don’t even know what needs to be changed? And how will you know the what, when you don’t take time to evaluate your current year? And that’s why today I want us to take stock of our year. Truth be told, I decided to do this after listening to a sermon on how to plan effectively for the following year. You can check it out here. Anyway, this got me thinking. Could it be the reason we stay stuck is that we have not learned the art of stock-taking? Every successful business has mastered the art of inventory management. This is because they recognize that effective inventory management is the difference between staying solvent or going bankrupt. 

Now back to context,

Every successful person has mastered the art of stock-taking and evaluating their life. They recognize that in order for them to be successful, they first need to be aware of their deficiencies and their strengths too so that they can apply what’s working and get rid of what’s not working. They also know that for them to do so, they need to be honest and intentional in doing so, which brings up the keys to effective stock-taking. 

Before we can get to the keys, we need to define what stock-taking is and its importance.

Definition

The Longman dictionary defines stock-taking as the art of reflecting on the things that have happened in a situation in order to decide what to do next. And with the year coming to an end, what better way to finish the year strong? You see, unless you and I decide to be intentional in our lives, we will never experience the change we so strongly desire. And maybe for you things are going very well, but you know what, there is always better and greater waiting for you. This brings me to my next point.

What is the importance of stock-taking?

To help us, I want to use the concept of inventory management in business. Let’s get right to it. Stocktaking allows you to keep an accurate track of the physical stock you have, what’s been sold, and what hasn’t. It’s all about comparing the physical stock to what the report says and then finding any discrepancies. In the same way, taking stock of your year will help you analyze if your life is going the same way on paper as it is in your head. As you do a thorough analysis, you gain clarity on how your life went and the changes you could make to live a more fulfilled life and have an even better year. Having a robust stock-taking method will help you to:

1. Compare the beginning of the year to the end of your year. This will help you recognize the changes you’ve made and whether they worked for you.
2. Keep up with your year’s goals. Have you achieved what you intended to? What pending goals have you got going?
3. What goals have you successfully accomplished? Did you use the same strategies on the successful ones as you did on the ones that failed? How can you do better next year?
4. Evaluate why you did not meet your resolution goals and what you need to do differently in the following year.
5. Discover the irrelevant goals so that you can let go of what’s not serving you and take on what’s serving you.
6. Identify the goals that, if not met by the end of the year cannot move to the next year.

I hope these 6 points have helped you understand the importance of stock-taking. Now let’s look at the keys that will help you do effective stock-taking of your year.

Keys to effective stock-taking.

Solitude

Until you can step away from the noise and the crowd, you will not be effective in your stock-taking assignment. You need to intentionally set time to review your past and present and make plans for your future. Think about your life as a company. Most companies always do strategic planning to ensure that they remain relevant, dynamic, and competitive. The same case applies to you. In order to know how to to effectively position yourself to the ever changing environment, culture, and society, it is imperative that you plan for your future by analyzing your past.

Strategically planning your life by analyzing your year will help you discover how to bring your authentic self to an ever changing world. After all unless you stand for something, you will always fall for everything. Also you will only show up as your true self when you learn to step away from the noise and Commune with God. You know it is in the silence that you will hear God.

Do you know Jesus modeled the same concept for us? Have you ever wondered why Jesus was effective in His ministry? I know the first thing you will tell me is that He is God. That He is. But He surrendered His Godly attribute when He came to earth and was fully man while on earth. He, in fact, depended on the leading of God and the Holy Spirit. That is why He told His disciples and all those who followed Him, He only did what He saw His Father do. Not only that, the Bible tells us that He would withdraw from the crowd often to commune with God. It was after a night of solitude that He chose His disciples. It was also after a time of prayer that He gained the courage to face the cross.

Therefore,

As you take stock of the year, set time aside to do that. And ensure that you limit all distractions. You can decide to do so early in the morning or late at night. And do that for a week or more. What I am simply saying is to be thorough and intentional and take all the time you need.

Resolution.

Until you decide to take stock of the year and be willing to ask yourself difficult questions. You will not effectively take stock of your year. Your mind is a powerful tool. And can be the difference between you moving forward or you staying stuck. Taking stock will help you focus on what matters and what is working. But you can only do that once you have resolved to take the changes you need to take. No wonder the Bible reminds us that as we think, so are we. Our lives will follow the direction of our most prevalent thoughts. That is why the resolution is key. Have you decided that you will analyze your life and do better? Are you ready to confront your past, review your present, and plan for your future.

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• What is the condition of your heart?

Action plan

Resolve will only help you so much. If you really want to take stock of your life, you need to have an action plan. And to help you do this, I want us to divide the areas of our lives into segments. And to help us do that, we will use the infamous wheel of life. At the core, we all have 4 important areas. And they are:

1. Career- school, work, business
2. Spiritual life
3. Relational- family and friends
4. Personal development- body, mind, social

For every category ask yourself these questions.

1. What area did I succeed the most in? And why was it so?
2. What were my least successful areas? And why?
3. Did I put in the same effort and time in my least successful areas as I did with my most successful areas?
4. Which areas do I need to work on the most?
5. Have the strategies I have been using worked or do I need to change my strategy?
6. If nothing ever changed in these areas would I be content?
7. Which areas did I want to focus on this year? And was I successful?
8. Do I have a vision for every area of my life? If not, why? And if yes, do my actions and vision align?
9. Do I have mental blockages that are hindering me from achieving balance in every area of my life?
10. What season am I in currently?

There are many more questions you could ask. In fact, I would encourage you to check out my wheel of life workbook. It will really help you effectively do stock-taking. And if you want to go a step further, check out my book living authentically to become your best version and stop living a life below what God envisioned for you.

Honesty.

As you take stock of your year, honesty is key. As you analyze your year and actions, ensure that you are honest with your wins and losses and not with what you wish you had done. After all, it’s in honesty that you can really grow. And remember, the goal is to grow and evolve into the person you desire to be and live the life you desire to live. As you take accountability for your actions, you give yourself room to grow. The only way you can grow is when you are honest with yourself about what needs to change and areas that you are slacking in. So be honest. Sugarcoat nothing. After all, you cannot lie to yourself. Reinvention starts with honesty and awareness.

Some of the questions you can ask yourself include:

1. Did I spend my time wisely during the year?
2. Did I spend money wisely?
3. What things did I spend my time and money on that I did not need to?
4. Was I diligent at work, school, or in my business?
5. Was I kind to other people?
6. Did I maximize my potential and the talents God gave me?
7. Was I kind to others?

Of course, there are many more questions you could ask yourself. But the key is to ensure that you answer these questions truthfully.

Celebrate the milestones

If you want to enjoy the process of stock-taking, ensure that you celebrate the milestones and seemingly small wins. The truth is that you are not where you were when the year started. And that is a good thing. Even if you grew in only one area, the truth is that there was growth. And when you learn to celebrate the small wins, you find the motivation to keep going and even accomplish more. Was there a book you wanted to read that you ended up reading? Or maybe you started the business you always wanted to start. Speaking of which, check out my new book In pursuit of breakthrough (Feels so good to say that). Comment below and let me know what your milestone and wins for this year are. I would love to celebrate the win with you.

Extend grace to yourself.

It is important to extend the same grace to yourself as you do to others. As you take stock of your year, be kind to yourself. You are only human. And you did not know better. And now that you know better, resolve to do better. Do not give room to the inner critic to take over. When you do, this voice will hinder your progress, as it will remind you of your weaknesses. You have come a long way and you have a long way to go. Be kind to yourself and give yourself room to err. You grow by learning. And it does not matter how many times you fall as long as you keep getting up, you are still winning.

Conclusion

There is no need for you to stay stuck in the same cycle, you have always been on. Do something different today that will catapult you into your next season. Allow this year to help you set up your momentum for the years to come. I am rooting for you. Comment down below if you enjoyed this. The next time we will talk about how to write a vision for your year, commonly referred to as a vision board. Until next time, remember you have it in you to become the person you have always desired to be. There is so much more inside you and it is time to let it out!