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How to Create a SWOT Analysis for the New Year

December 30, 2016October 15, 2018 by Alyce Vayle 2 Comments

Here’s a step by step guide to allow you to create a personal SWOT analysis to ensure you have an excellent New Year, as well as a successful next 12 months. A SWOT analysis is a strategic method of weighing up the various positive and limiting parameters in a particular situation,to give you an idea of what your best options are. This might factor in your working career or personal pursuits. Originally a term from the business world, a SWOT Analysis is now used as a method of defining many things, including love. This was discussed in How to Create a SWOT Analysis for a Relationship.

By looking at your strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats you can begin to hone the skills that will help you to succeed in the New Year, to achieve your goals, or to allow you to enjoy and maintain your current status.

A typical SWOT analysis involves nailing down the specific objective of the ventures or projects you plan to undertake and assisting you in looking at the positive and negative area or landscape around that to achieve your goal. Build your personal strategy for the New Year with a bit of planning. Grab a large piece of paper, or open up a working document and let’s get started. Here’s how.

New Year SWOT / Helpful to achieving the objective / Harmful to achieving the objective
Internal Origin (your personal attributes) / Strengths / Weaknesses
External Origin (attributes of your environment) / Opportunities / Threats

How to Create a SWOT Analysis for the New Year Step By Step

The first step in creating your SWOT analysis for the New Year is to look at the Internal Factors at play. This is where you get to drill down into your own psyche and motivations and weigh up the good with the bad. This is personal work, so dig deep and be honest! This will help you decide on the areas you need to attention in your plan for the year.

Internal Factors for the New Year / Your Current Strengths / Your Current Weaknesses? What is your current position in life? How are you faring right now? Write down everything that you believe is a STRONG factor in your personal situation for the New Year. Include emotional position (if strong), financial strengths (if any), relationships with your friends and family etc. What in your life is making you feel weak? What do you perceive to have weakened further last year? How has your health, financial position and emotional strength been going over the past 12 months? List anything you feel is relevant. Write down everything that you believe is a WEAKENED factor in your personal situation for the New Year.

Next, you’ll be looking at the External Factors at play, the things you might have limited access to control such as your current working situation or goal setting abilities. Think through the whole year, based on how your last year went, but also looking further into your past to garner any clues you can into what the next year of your life might have in store for you.

External Factors for the New Year / What Opportunities Are There? / What Threats Do You Perceive? What goals do you want to achieve this year? What personal projects do you want to get off the ground? What’s the landscape like at your current place of work and how well-placed are you to take advantage of any opportunities that arise suddenly? Write down everything that you believe is an OPPORTUNITY in your personal situation for the New Year. Who or what might get in your way of achieving your goals? What other limiting factors do you have around you and how likely are they to become a problem or issue for you? Delve deeply into anything you feel might get in your way. Write down everything that you believe is a THREAT to your personal situation for the New Year.

What Do Next When You’ve Created Your SWOT Analysis

The next stage in your planning journey is to start planning how you are going to get to your goals and how to effectively position yourself so that you can achieve them easily.

Step #1: Determine Your Objectives

Plan out your next month, next 3 months, next 6 months and full year. Look back to the internal factors at play in your life and see what objectives reoccur as a theme. If you had a “mission statement” for the year – what would it be? If you had a theme song for the next 12 months – what would it sound like? Have fun with these ideas and add them all to your plan.

Step #2: Develop Your Strategy for the New Year

Now it’s time to strategise. What are the “pain points” and “busy times” of the year? When will your downtime occur? What obligations do you have to meet for your friends and family? How much of your time will be taken up with work? Plan out your next 12 months; you might even find it useful to download a free calendar template or calendar smartphone app to help you.

Step #3: Make An Action Plan

Match up your objectives with the key milestone markers in your year and determine your action plan. Make notes of any times during the year when you’ll have to be extra conscientious or when you might get to enjoy some down time.

The New Year is a Time to Celebrate and Have Fun

Don’t forget to have fun! Planning is a great way to play around with new concepts and ideas. This is like journal or diary work to an extent – it is your time to look within and be as honest as you can.

Want to Kick Goals in the New Year?

Let Alyce Vayle know what goals you want to achieve in the New Year. If you need your resume written or a plan to get your projects off the ground Contact Alyce Vayle here. Find out more about Content Strategy here.

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