On Tuesday, Colin and I will have our 26th wedding anniversary—and some things never change, for better or for worse. We have aligned on so many things in our lives together—homes we bought, schools for our children, extensive travel, food, lifestyle, values and much more. But when it comes to holidays, it’s another story.

Most of us know that taking time off is important. It refreshes us and enhances our creativity and productivity. Then why do so many of us, most of us, not take the time off we need to rejuvenate ourselves? I ask myself this question because I, too, have a hard time unplugging.

This morning I got up early to start my annual planning process. The goals my weekly planning friends and I come up with today will be the North Star for our weekly planning. Each week we will check to see if our day-to-day lives are reflecting and aiming towards those goals. The first step in the process of looking forward to 2019 is to reflect back on 2018.