Though the 29-year-old has played every game this season and is North's leading possession winner, he said he had to be sure of his place in its best 22 before agreeing to terms for 2011.
"I didn't want to be in a position where they wanted to move on to play younger guys," he told afl.com.au. "I wanted to make sure that was clear before I talked any contracts.
"I think it's probably the right move from the club's perspective and from mine that from now on is a year-by-year scenario. I'm more than comfortable with that.
"Once you've been at the club for a long time, you sort of end up thinking more about the club than yourself.
"I'd hate for the club to be in a position where they felt like they had to play me because I'd been around for a certain amount of time."
Winner of North's best and fairest award in 2004 and 2006, Rawlings finished third in the count last year after a successful transition from a midfield tagging role to the backline.
While he has maintained his shutdown of opposition small forwards this year, he has also become crucial to the side's rebound from defence.
And as deputy vice-captain, he has been able to offer greater leadership in that part of the ground.
"It's been enjoyable this year," he said. "Going into the season with a new coach and a new game plan, I suppose there was a bit of uncertainty [of] how we were going to go.
"To be able to play down back and get a few of us playing together for a bit now, we're starting to adapt to it a lot better each week."
Rawlings said that the arrival of senior coach Brad Scott meant he had entered the season - his 12th at AFL level - without any expectation of his future beyond 2010.
"I wasn't too sure of the club's plans ... whether I was still required after this year," he said.
"I know [now] with Brad that when my time's up he'll tell me. We've had that chat before.
"He'll tell me when it's near and I just want to be on the same page as the club."
In preparing for life after football, Rawlings is undertaking the AFLCA future coaches course completed by former teammate and current Hawthorn assistant Adam Simpson in 2009.
He has spent one day a week for the last two months working in the League's game development department with national talent manager Kevin Sheehan and AIS-AFL high performance coach Jason McCartney, and is planning for a similar arrangement next year.
Last year, he completed work experience with North's talent ID manager Bryce Lewis and list manager Cameron Joyce.
Rawlings said the opportunities he had been given by the club and the AFL had been invaluable.
"Recruiting is what I'm most passionate about but I also feel I've got a bit to offer with development and that side of things," he said.
