A New Year Reflection Playlist for the ADHD Brain

As we approach the new year, many of us (myself included) love looking back to reflect on and learn from the past year. 

Today I’m here with a fresh twist on the reflection process that’s both accessible and supportive for an ADHD brain. 

What’s that twist, you ask?

Capturing the year through music.

Yep, with a simple, step-by-step process, we’re creating a soundtrack that offers a window into your shifting emotional states, experiences, and overall growth during the past 12 months.

Want to learn how?

Awesome. Then tune into episode 232 of the I’m Busy Being Awesome podcast, where you’ll discover:

• Why music is such a powerful means of reflection  
• How music, memory, and emotion connect
• The benefits of this reflection practice for an ADHD brain
• How to put this practice into your life today

https://youtu.be/_XT-e_JRMn8

You can listen to the episode above or stream it on your favorite podcasting app here.   

Prefer to read? No problem! Keep scrolling for the entire podcast transcript. 

In This Episode #232, You Will Discover

• Why music is such a powerful means of reflection  
• How music, memory, and emotion connect
• The benefits of this reflection practice for an ADHD brain
• How to put this practice into your life today

Episode #232: Creating A Yearly Playlist – An ADHD-Friendly Approach to New Year Reflection (Transcript) 

Today we are talking about the power of creating a yearly playlist as a means of reflection and capturing the essence of your year.

Now, I first heard about this idea from my friend Jenn several months ago. She talked about it through the practice of creating a playlist for your personal year – birthday to birthday. In other words, you might create a playlist on your 32nd year, your 67th year, or your year of 40.

When I heard this idea, it got my wheels turning, and I started thinking about it through the lens of reflection and New Year’s rituals as well.

There are, of course, a lot of different ways that we can reflect upon the previous year to inform our year ahead, but a lot of that is through written reflection. When I thought about turning this practice into one involving music, and essentially creating a music time capsule for the year, I got super excited and could not wait to share this idea with all of you.

So today, we’re diving into this practice of creating a musical time capsule.

We will explore:

• Why I love the idea of using music as a means of reflection
• The links between music, emotion, and memory, and how that plays into our musical time capsule
• Why I love this practice for ADHD brains and people with ADHD tendencies specifically.

I have also created my own playlist for the year. Feel free to check it out HERE!

Are you ready? Let’s dive in.

Using Music To Help You Reflect

Let’s start by exploring why I love the idea of introducing music as a means for reflection both at the end of the year and also as an exercise of actively capturing the coming year ahead.

First of all, the simple use of music as a means of reflection is an incredibly powerful tool.

Emotional Connection

Music has a unique ability to evoke emotions and spark memories, and by revisiting songs from the past year, we have an easier time reconnecting with the specific emotions we felt at different moments.

For example, when I listened to the songs that I played on repeat during my 26-hour drive with Bruno from Massachusetts to Minnesota when we moved in May, it brought all the of the different emotions I was feeling at that time and really brought me back to that moment.

Nostalgia and Reminiscence

That brings me to the next reason why I love using music specifically as a vehicle for reflection. This is because certain songs serve as time capsules, and they can help transport us to different moments in time. Music can generate a sense of gratitude and nostalgia but also provides a powerful opportunity to appreciate your journey and how much you’ve grown.

I think this will only build upon itself if you make this a yearly practice and you start capturing your year with certain songs. I just think it’s such a fun approach.

Personal Growth and Change

Another reason I like using music is simply because it often reflects our own growth as we shift. And having a yearly playlist becomes a record of our personal growth and change. I’ve noticed how looking at my music preferences this year and the new genres and artists that I leaned into a lot really helped highlight a shift in my own evolving identity.

For years, the main music you’d hear on my playlist was acoustic folk and pop. My playlists were filled with Jack Johnson, Ben Folds, Iron and Wine, Cat Stevens, Dispatch, etc.

This year, my music was almost entirely female-driven artists and genres that really inspires a lot of dance, movement, and strength. It was just a fascinating shift to see.

Storytelling Through Sound

Similarly, the songs in the playlist can help tell a story. Now, I don’t think it is true for every song. At the beginning of this past year, I was really exploring dance as a way to move through emotion and transition from work to the end of the day. It wasn’t necessarily the message of the songs but rather the feel of the music that pulled me in.

At other times, I felt a deep connection with the lyrics, which really seemed to speak to what I was navigating at that particular moment. And collectively, you have this narrative reflecting the highs, lows, challenges, and successes of the past year. It’s a unique and personalized way to document one’s journey.

Catharsis and Healing

I also think that music has therapeutic qualities and can serve as a form of catharsis for some of us.

Revisiting songs associated with challenges or obstacles helps us:

• Reflect on how much we’ve grown
• See the things we’ve overcome
• Create a greater appreciation of our strengths
• Find some closure and healing.

Again, this isn’t the case for everyone, but I did find that to be true for a few of the songs in my playlist.

Sense of Achievement

I don’t know if it will be a similar experience for everyone, but I found that creating a yearly playlist was a really tangible and creative way to represent the past year, and it created this accessible sense of achievement.

Looking back over the past year was a pretty approachable process of simply scrolling back through my most listened-to songs and the songs I intentionally favorited over the past year, and it provided this sense of completion and a fun win, which my ADHD brain loved.

Going forward for the next year, the thought of capturing songs for next year’s playlist does not feel daunting whatsoever since I’m adding one song at a time whenever it stands out to me.

As I say this, my coaching radar is going up, and I want to offer a friendly reminder to avoid the spin cycle and not let perfectionism take over here. It could be very easy to do.

When I went through the process of looking back over the songs from the past year, I just went with my gut, I added all my favorites to my 2023 playlist, and then I went through it once, weeding out the ones that didn’t seem to fit the vibe quite as well, and I called it a day.

I love this practice of using music for reflection because it helps add depth and dimension to the process of self-reflection.

It engages multiple senses, makes the reflection more vivid and emotionally resonant, and – in my experience – contributed to a fuller understanding of my journey over the past 12 months.

Why is music, memory, and emotion connected?

So with that in mind, let’s also talk a little more about why music specifically is so powerful when it comes to generating memories and emotions and the way it can really transport us back to certain places in time.

Associative Memory

Associative memory is where music is closely linked to memory through a process called associative memory. When we hear a song, our brains often connect it to the emotions, events, or people associated with that particular moment.

This connection creates a powerful recall of that memory.

Neurological Connection

Building on this, we have the neurological connections. The brain’s limbic system, which is involved in processing emotions and forming memories, can play a crucial role in the connection between music and nostalgia, especially when we’re in a highly emotional state.

Additionally, music activates many different regions of the brain, including the hippocampus, amygdala, and prefrontal cortex, enhancing the encoding and retrieval of these memories.

Temporal Coding

Music becomes a temporal marker, creating a timeline of our lives. When we revisit a song from the past, it acts as a marker in time, helping us recall not only the specific event associated with the music but also the emotions, sights, and sounds of that moment in time.

There are many other areas and connections, too, but that’s beyond my realm of expertise. Again, if you want to go down the rabbit hole, check out a podcast episode by Dr. Andrew Huberman called How to Use Music to Boost Motivation, Mood, and Improve Learning. I think it’s a really fascinating episode. But be warned – as always – his episodes are VERY long.

But to wrap up my points about the connection between music, emotions, and memory, essentially, it’s a complex interplay of neurological processes, emotional resonance, and associative memory. Music acts as a powerful tool to tap into our past and allow us to re-live certain memories and emotional experiences.

Creating a Musical Time Capsule

So now let’s talk about why I love this practice so much for creating a musical time capsule, especially at this time of year when many of us are looking for a way to reflect.

Speaking of which, if you’re also looking for guided written practice, I highly recommend checking out my guided walking meditation and accompanying workbook. I provide the meditation on Episode 179 of the I’m Busy Being Awesome podcast called New Year Reflection & Expansion. And you can grab the free workbook here.

By using this Reflection process, it helps you:

• Discover the power of reflection for an ADHD brain
• Celebrate your accomplishments from the past 12 months
• Learn from the obstacles you overcame
• Plan an incredible year of growth ahead

So let’s talk about why I love this idea of a musical time capsule.

Curate a Soundtrack of Life:

First of all, it’s such a fun way to really curate a soundtrack for the last year of your life. As you add songs to your yearly playlist, each track becomes a musical representation of specific moments, events, or emotions.

Together, they weave a soundtrack that represents the essence of your life during that particular year.

Reflect on the Seasons of Life:

It also helps reflect the different shifts in season, potentially literally but certainly metaphorically. As my clients know, I love to think about the idea of seasons meaning these are my priorities for this season.

This is what I’m into this season. I’m going to try this for a season. I think music can powerfully capture those shifting moods, experiences, and seasons, which offers this powerful representation of your emotional landscape of each period.

Document Milestones, Events, and Achievements:

I also like this practice – especially if you’re aware of it for the year ahead, of using music to help document significant life events, achievements, or milestones. By including these songs in your yearly playlist, you’re able to document and celebrate these important moments more easily, which can then help you return to those feelings of success, love, accomplishment, or joy whenever you hear them.

I was even thinking about how you could use this in a very practical sense in terms of helping you recall certain events you have a hard time remembering.

For example, I am TERRIBLE with remembering specific concerts I’ve attended, groups I’ve seen live, etc. Ryan will mention, “Remember when we saw the Gin Blossoms at such and such?” and I’m like… nope. This is especially true for the opening bands. I just can’t remember that type of thing. But adding one of my favorite songs from each band’s set list to my playlist for the year could help me recall the groups I’ve seen.

So there are lots of ways you could use this approach of creating a musical time capsule, both in terms of recalling different seasons of life, emotional states, moments of growth and challenge and accomplishment, and practical events and experiences too.

In essence, it really helps provide this tangible and deeply personal record that allows you to relive and reflect on the richness of the past year overall.

The benefits of reflection for ADHD brains

Sidestep Overwhelm:

The simplicity of adding songs to a playlist provides a lower-barrier entry point. It allows for engagement without overwhelming our brains with multistep complex or tedious tasks. Instead, if we notice we’re tapping repeat on a certain song, simply add it to that year’s playlist. Simple as that.

Similarly, it’s instant gratification as you begin building that list, which is always fun.

Minimized Decision Fatigue:

Building on that idea, I also love how this really minimizes decision fatigue – especially if you think about the process going forward into the new year. All you need to do is decide if you want to add the song to your playlist.

Again, there are more decisions if you want to look back this year over all the different music, but if you remind your brain to hold the practice loosely, it doesn’t have to be perfect; I still think it can be fun.

But when you’re adding songs throughout the year, it’s just one decision at a time.

Do I want to add this song? Yes or no. Knowing you can always remove it should you curate your list at the end of the year.

Avoidance of Procrastination:

I also think the immediate nature of the task is really powerful in helping sidestep procrastination. You hear the song, tap the plus button on Spotify, and add it to your 2024 playlist.

This process requires less demand on our executive functions, which means there will likely be less resistance overall, especially when compared to something like written reflection. 

Even if we’re just writing a sentence or two, the process requires a lot of different steps, from getting the materials to thinking through the question and writing it out – and therefore, it becomes a much bigger ask. Adding to your Spotify playlist, however, is a two-step process. Click the plus button. Then select the playlist. 

Routine:

Finally, I like this practice as well for the brains that want to introduce a bit more structure by turning it into some type of routine.

As we talked about in last week’s episode, all of our brains need some level of structure; some of us prefer low levels of structure, others medium, and others high. If you’re a brain that craves more structure, creating some weekly or monthly routine around scrolling through your recently played lists could be a fun practice.

Steps To Create Your New Year Reflection Playlist

So let’s do a quick play-by-play and recap of the steps if you want to put what we’ve talked about into practice, starting with a look back over the past year.

Looking Back Over the Past Year…

Step 1: Gather Your Favorite Songs

• Scroll through your most listened-to songs and identify the ones that stood out to you.
• Add these songs to your playlist for the past year.

Step 1.5: (Optional) Reflect on Events

• If you want to, or if you weren’t listening to much music over the past year, you could also take a moment to reflect on the significant events, emotions, challenges, and accomplishments of the past year and consider the role of music in your life during different moments and think about what sounds might best represent those experiences too.

Step 2: Curate Your Playlist

• Weed out songs that don’t resonate as strongly with the overall vibe of your year.
• Trust your gut and keep the process approachable and simple; it doesn’t have to be perfect.

Step 3: Enjoy Your Creation

• Take time to listen to and enjoy your curated playlist and relive the memories and emotions associated with the songs.
• It’s such a fun opportunity to really embrace the unique narrative that your playlist tells about your journey over the past 12 months.

Ongoing Practice for the Year Ahead…

Step 1: Let It Be Simple

• There is such beauty in the simplicity of adding songs to a playlist.
• Whenever you discover a new favorite song, or you find that you’re returning to one often, click “add to playlist” without overthinking.

Step 2: Minimize Decision Fatigue

• Focus on one decision at a time: “Do I want to add this song?” Yes or no.
• Remind yourself that perfection is not the goal; the process is meant to be enjoyable and low-pressure. And you can always curate later if you want to.

Step 3: Establish Routine (Optional)

• If you crave more structure, consider creating a routine around reviewing and adding songs to your playlist.
• This routine can be weekly or monthly, depending on your preference for structure.

Step 4: Use Your Playlist as a Tool for Reflection

• Once you reach the end of the year – or at any time throughout the year, really – you can leverage your playlist as a tool for reflection and growth.
• Celebrate accomplishments, learn from challenges, and plan for an incredible year ahead.

Step 5: Share Your Playlist!

If you give this a try and create your own playlist for the year, I would love to hear about it and also love to hear it!

Let me know how it goes over on Instagram @imbusybeingawesome. You can share your experience in the post for this episode. And if you want to share your curated list, please send me a DM; I’d love to hear it.