I often regret that the holidays and the end of the year come at the same time. I want to put my heart into the festivities, but end-of-the-year paperwork and work projects also beckon. Amid all this activity, I also want to reflect quietly on the last 12 months.

It's not easy to do this reflecting, especially when every day is packed with not only a to-do list but also the to-dos of the next weeks and months. Last month I saw a cartoon that struck home on this point. Drawn by Bob Thaves, the "Frank & Ernest" panel shows one caveman telling the other, "Yeah, I'm worried all the time, too — I wish we'd never invented the future tense!"

What if I couldn't think about the future? Without future consequences to consider, my actions would be unrestrained in ways that I certainly would rue later.

Maybe it's not the future tense we need to eradicate, but the past. As a career counselor, I'm privy to regret-laden conversations on more than just career topics. We all carry regrets, but, for some of us, the burden is impeding our progress into the future.

You've undoubtedly got your own list, but here are the most common things I hear. If any hits home, take heed: You can give yourself a present that no one else can: the gift of letting go and starting fresh.

1. Issues from past jobs. No doubt you've been treated unfairly by past co-workers or bosses. Some of the circumstances I hear about are infuriating, and careers have been seriously harmed. And yet, there comes a point when each of us has to decide how much future to give to this slice of the past.

How many conversations, thoughts, decisions and days in the next year do you want to devote to something unjust that was done to you? If you want to move on, now is a good time to do it. If necessary, seek out a therapist or counselor to help you, but resolve to let this go so that something more productive can take its place.

2. Disappointments you've visited upon yourself, such as weight gain. Did you put on 10 pounds this year? Well, decide: Drop the weight or accept it. If you choose the former, make a plan and get started. If you choose the latter, set aside your old wardrobe and find new things that you feel good wearing. Just don't spend the next 12 months telling yourself you don't look good.

3. Career disappointments, such as uncompleted degree programs. Never finished your master's or undergraduate degree? Well, decide: Finish it or not? If yes, make a plan with a deadline, find some support and get started. Don't be cheap with yourself, either. If you need to hire a tutor or an editor for your thesis, just do it and get this thing done. If your decision is not to finish, dump the old books and papers and stop thinking of yourself as having left something undone. Let it go, and look forward to the new things you are now free to learn.

4. Home projects. A surprising number of people delay career changes or job searches because of seemingly unrelated home projects. One client wanted a home office, but that needed to be in the basement, which needed to be refinished, which couldn't happen until new drain tile was laid, which had to wait for summer . . . Holy cow. This is another do-it-or-forget-it item, especially if the project is holding back other decisions in your life. Make a decision, make a plan, then either finish it or let it go.

5. An unsatisfying job search. It wouldn't be a career column without this one. If your work life is miserable, you are at a crossroads every day: Stay or leave? Make this the day you decide, then make a plan. If you're staying, find a way to make this tolerable. If you're leaving, set a departure date, then find someone to hold you to it, whether that's a support group, a buddy, or a paid coach or counselor. Keep reading this column, and I promise you'll see more specific tips to help you on this one!

- Amy Lindgren owns Prototype Career Service, a career consulting firm in St. Paul, Minn. She can be reached at alindgren@prototypecaree rservice.com or at 1071 W. Seventh St., St. Paul, MN 55102.