Year in review ideas: 25 questions to help you remember your year.
25 real questions to ask yourself at the end of the year, the kind that actually help you remember what happened, not the kind that just ask how it went.
Written by Philip · Published August 12, 2026
“How was your year?” is one of the hardest questions to actually answer, not because nothing happened, but because it's too big to answer honestly. Most people default to a one-line summary that flattens twelve months into “good, I guess” or “busy.”
Specific questions work better than a general one, because they aim at one particular memory instead of asking your brain to summarize hundreds of them at once. These 25 are grouped into five categories, what happened, who was there, what changed, what almost got lost, and what's worth carrying forward.
What actually happened
Start with the year itself, before you get to anyone or anything else in it.
- 1
What's the first thing you think of when you picture this year?
Not the summary you'd give a stranger, whatever actually comes up first.
- 2
What surprised you the most?
The moment you didn't see coming, good or bad.
- 3
What's something that happened that you haven't told many people about?
Not everything worth remembering ever got posted, or even mentioned.
- 4
What was the hardest month, and why?
Naming it is different from just remembering that it was hard.
- 5
What's one thing you did for the first time?
First times get memorable fast, and forgotten just as fast.
The people
A year is mostly made of who you spent it with, even the parts that don't feel like it.
- 6
Who did you spend the most time with this year?
Not necessarily who you would have guessed.
- 7
Who showed up for you when it actually mattered?
The kind of person worth tagging on a page, not just thinking about.
- 8
Who do you wish you'd talked to more?
A gentle prompt, not a guilt trip.
- 9
Did you meet anyone who changed how you see things?
Even a short conversation can do this.
- 10
Who deserves an actual thank-you, not just a text?
This is close to what a nengajo used to be for.
What changed
Change is easy to miss year to year, and obvious the moment you actually look for it.
- 11
What's something you believed in January that you don't believe anymore?
A real answer here says more than most year-end summaries do.
- 12
What did you stop doing this year?
Quitting something is easy to forget once it's actually gone.
- 13
What did you start doing that actually stuck?
Not the resolution, the thing that survived past February.
- 14
What's different about an ordinary Tuesday now, compared to a year ago?
Big change usually shows up in small, boring places first.
- 15
What would the you from January be surprised to know about you now?
A strange, useful way to measure a year.
What almost got lost
These are the ones most likely to disappear if nobody writes them down.
- 16
What's a photo you took but never looked at again?
Worth going and actually finding it.
- 17
What's a moment you didn't photograph at all?
The ones that only exist in memory are usually the ones worth writing down first.
- 18
What's an inside joke from this year that only a few people would understand?
Write it down anyway, for whoever you are in five years.
- 19
What's something ordinary you'd actually want to remember, a specific meal, a drive, a conversation?
Ordinary is usually what gets cut first, and missed most.
- 20
What almost didn't happen, but did?
The near-misses are some of the best stories a year has.
What's worth carrying forward
End with the part of the year worth taking with you into the next one.
- 21
What are you glad you did, even though it was hard?
Hindsight tends to shrink the hard part and grow the glad part.
- 22
What do you want more of next year?
Specific enough that you would actually notice when it happens.
- 23
What do you hope you still remember about this year in five years?
Answering this is close to writing the year's actual entry.
- 24
If this year had a title, what would it be?
Forces a single honest line out of twelve months.
- 25
What did this year teach you about the people you want around you?
A quieter, longer-lasting kind of takeaway than most year-end lists.
This is close to how yeerbook’s own monthly prompts work, see how it actually works, specific questions tied to a real photo or moment, instead of a blank page asking you to summarize a whole year at once.
Frequently asked questions
Do I need to answer all 25?
No. Pick the ones that actually make you stop and think for a second, that's usually a sign the question is worth answering. A handful of honest answers beats twenty-five rushed ones.
What if I'm not sure how to answer one of these?
That's often a sign it's a good question, not a hard one. Sit with it for a day and revisit it, or pair it with a specific photo from that stretch of the year to jog the actual memory instead of answering in the abstract.
Can I use these questions with other people, not just for myself?
Yes. A few of these, especially the ones about people, work well as something you ask a friend or partner directly, or as a question you leave for someone to answer on a shared page.
Is this the same as journaling?
It overlaps, but it's more specific than a blank page. Each question is built to jog one particular kind of memory, the kind a generic "how was your year" prompt tends to miss entirely.
Give your answers somewhere to actually live.
Pick a few questions, add a photo, and see where the year actually takes you.