HOW TO DO A MID-YEAR GOAL REVIEW + CHECK-IN
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I know it’s cliche but I am in shock that we are halfway through the year already! I always feel like once we get to July, the rest of the year just flies by. Maybe it’s because school starts up again in less than 2 months and life just seems to be busier in the fall.
Or, maybe that’s just me…
But, one thing I do know about being halfway through the year is that I haven’t even taken a second look at my goals since January…
Whoops.
I even have them conveniently set up on my Trello board this year in an effort to actually keep them front of mind. But, I honestly didn’t even look at them again until last week.
And that’s OK. I have a feeling that I’m not alone and you probably do something similar (otherwise, you’re a much better achiever than I am and probably shouldn’t be reading this blog in the first place).
With it being the halfway mark of the year, I wanted to spend some time going back over those goals and making sure I was actually making progress toward them.
Because here’s the reality of your goals…
Goals don’t actually mean anything. It’s the ACTION you take to make them a reality.
One of my mentors always says to write down the goal, then write down the actions you need to take to achieve that goal, and then ERASE your goal. While I don’t quite go the step of actually erasing my goals, I do set them and forget them because she’s absolutely right.
ACTIONS are more important than the actual goal.
However, in order for those goals to become a reality, I think it’s important to take some time - whether it’s halfway through the year or even every single month - to review those goals and make sure you’re making PROGRESS toward them.
How do you do that? By asking yourself these 4 questions...
1️. What went well this month // quarter // past 6 months?
I always think it’s important to focus on the POSITIVE things that you’ve achieved so far this year. What has been going well for you? Maybe it’s that you’ve been consistent in showing up for your business, or not hitting snooze on your alarm clock every morning.
Or, maybe it’s that you haven’t lost your sh*t on your kiddos as much as you usually do (whoops, guilty).
Whatever it is, this first question is all about REFLECTING the things that have gone really well for you so far.
2️. What can I improve on or do better?
While I’d love to focus all of our time on the positive things that have happened, we don’t learn or grow without the negative things. Growth is ALL about failure - without it, we can’t make progress. We NEED those mistakes, those missteps.
What things can you do better? Where are areas you feel like you’re not doing well in your life or business? Maybe you need to set better boundaries with people or with your time. Or maybe you need to reconsider your priorities to make sure you’re actually focusing on the right things.
Be honest with yourself. If you want to achieve those goals you’ve set out for, you need to spend some time reflecting on how you can improve.
3️. Where am I at with the goals I set at the beginning of the year?
Yup, 2 questions in and we’re just now looking at those goals…
Now that you know what you’ve done well + where you need to improve, we can actually take a look at those goals. Have you made any progress toward them? Do you have action steps written down and have actually achieved those little steps?
Have you actually already achieved one of those goals?! (If that’s you, YOU GO, GIRL! I’m proud of you!)
You can even take this a step further and reassess those goals. Maybe your priorities have shifted since January (I mean, think about 2020 and how much had changed in the first 6 months of the year...) and you need to scrap a goal completely. That’s perfectly OK. Goals aren’t for anyone else but YOU, so no need to feel shame or defeat if you need to throw out the goal and set some new ones.
4️. What action do I need to take in the next month // quarter // 6 months in order to achieve my goals?
Now that you’ve reflected and re-evaluated your goals, it’s time to look at those action steps in order to make those goals a reality. What steps do you need to take? Do you need to scrap steps and start over? Have you already completed some of those actions and need to move on to the next?
One last thing I want you to know about your goals…
Throw out the timeline. Just like achieving the goal isn’t actually about the goal (it’s about the action), the timeline and when you achieve it doesn’t actually matter. Think about it… if you already achieved a goal that you had planned to complete by the end of the year, did the timeline really even matter?
Goals are about SURRENDERING the outcome instead of STRIVING to make it happen.
Focus on the action and I promise, the results will follow in time.