Can you believe it? Half of the year gone… poof! That kind of snuck up on us, didn’t it? One half is now behind us. One half is ahead. How’s it going for you? How is 2019 shaping up?
Do you have a process for taking stock about how your year is going? If you do, this post isn’t for you. But if you don’t have an approach and are interested in spending an hour being reflective about the first half of the year and more intentional for the second half, I’m going to give you a super simple approach. Ten steps. Sixty minutes. Yes!
Why would you want to do this? Well, if you want the second half of 2019 to be even better than the first half, reflection brings clarity. And clarity is power. If you act on it. And this approach includes an action aspect.
Given this is for folks who don’t have an approach, don’t expect this to be the end-all, be-all. I want this to be both do-able and impactful. So let’s get to it…
Do This in 60 Minutes or Less.
This is key: Ten steps, 6 minutes each. Block the time on your calendar, and do it. Why 60 minutes? Because most people won’t do a review like this because it seems overwhelming or because their assumptions about how to do it well or right end up overwhelming them.
Overwhelmed typically = not doing. Think of this as do-able, because it is. Do it in 60 minutes. If you want to spend more time with it than this, fine. But I’m here to tell you…
Do your first pass in 60 minutes. Let it sit for 48 hours. Then come back to it again. Okay? And do it soon.
Put it in the calendar. Keep it short. Do it soon.
Here we go!
- Ten steps.
- Six minutes each (give or take).
- Sixty minutes… done.
You can do this. I’m going to help.
Step 1: Goal Reflection
- When 2019 started, what did you most want to accomplish this year?
- Alternatively, what do you most want to accomplish before 31 December?
- How satisfied are you with your progress?
- Very Dissatisfied. Somewhat Dissatisfied. Somewhat Satisfied. Very Satisfied. Done/Couldn’t Be Happier!
- Why did you answer that way?
Step 2: Relationship Reflection
- What are your three most important relationships?
- How satisfied are you with the way you have “shown up” in those relationships over the first six months of this year?
- Very Dissatisfied. Somewhat Dissatisfied. Somewhat Satisfied. Very Satisfied. Done/Couldn’t Be Happier!
- Why did you answer that way for each?
Step 3: Internal State Reflection
- When you think about your internal state in general over the past six months versus how you started the year, how would you describe it in 17 words or less?
- How satisfied are you with your progress in working with your internal state?
- Very Dissatisfied. Somewhat Dissatisfied. Somewhat Satisfied. Very Satisfied. Done/Couldn’t Be Happier!
- Why did you answer that way?
Step 4: The Not-So-Good Stuff Inventory
- Spend 5 minutes pondering on your Losses, Setbacks, and Regrets over the past six months.
List them here.
Step 5: The Good Stuff Inventory
- Spend 5 minutes pondering on your Wins, Successes, and Lucky Bounces over the past six months.
List them here.
Step 6: Reconnecting to Purpose + Values
- Now that you’ve thought through all the above, take a more “meta” view.
- Reconnect to — reflect on — your Purpose and your top 3 Aspirational Values.
- (If you don’t have those written down, just make them up, now.)
- What comes up for you as you reflect on them?
Step 7: Stepping Back and Learning
- You’ve done some amazing reflection, looking at:
- Your satisfaction with your key goal
- Your satisfaction of how you are showing up in relationships
- Your satisfaction regarding how you work with your internal state
- The not-so-good stuff that’s happened
- The good stuff that’s happened.
- How you feel about your alignment with your purpose and values.
- Scan all that real quick-like, now, would you?
- Now… in 17 words or less, what advice would you give yourself?
- And… in 17 words or less, what are you grateful for?
Step 8: Looking Forward and Doing
- Given that advice — and any other thoughts and feelings stirring in you now…
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START: What’s the single most important thing you think you should start doing?
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STOP: What’s the single most important thing you need to stop doing?
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CONTINUE: What’s the single most important thing you started doing over the past six months that you most definitely should continue doing?
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Step 9: Bridging This Into Your Life
- What will you do to bridge this insight into your weekly + daily life?
- What changes to your daily/weekly planning or habit tracking would support you in doing the above?
- (See suggestion 2, below, if you don’t have a planning approach that works for you. Not now — when you are done reflecting.)
Step 10: Ending Well
- What are the top 1—3 most important things you took from doing this reflection process?
Congrats! You did it. You did your reflection! I am over the moon proud of you because most people will avoid doing an exercise like this. Heck, I have.
It has always been my intention to do a quarterly reflection, and I’ve simply never had the discipline to do it. But, I finally summoned my resources, and I just followed the same 10 steps above myself on the flight home from Texas on June 28th. I was so happy I did, and I hope this will help you, too!
Reflection. Check! Done! Now what?
Two Suggestions
Two suggestions if you want to do something different over the next six months to make those six months even more effective.
Suggestion 1. Set a clear goal for the back half of the year, and follow the seven-step process I outlined here. Even better, set a clear goal for the upcoming calendar quarter. Then, repeat for the fourth quarter.
Suggestion 2. If you don’t have a good daily + weekly planning approach, find or develop one. I use a hybrid of the “bullet journal method” by Ryder Carrol (see his vids on YouTube or his book The Bullet Journal Method) and Michael Hyatt’s Full Focus Planner. I’ve researched productivity methods and approaches for 30 years now, and this hybrid approach I’ve found works for me. If I had more time, I’d just use the bullet journal method and start with a blank notebook. But the benefits of the structure in Hyatt’s quarterly journal, for me, outweigh the cost (about $30) and the parts of his structure that I’d change.
Suggestions 1 and 2 are a one-two punch to translate your reflection into action. The reflection alone may have some surprising benefits. Bridging that reflection may be even more powerful. Your call.
Okay. That’s it!
I’d love to hear from you if you do the above, or if you’d be willing to share your approach to reflecting on a quarter or half year. I hope that this helps you finish 2019 super healthy, super happy, and super feeling good about what you’ve accomplished, how you are in your relationships, and how you are experiencing this life within yourself, within your internal state.