Mid year review.

By Dana Bosley

Now that we are nearly half way through 2011, it is an ideal time to evaluate how you are doing on achieving your goals for the year. A few good reasons for doing this review now are:

1.      It can encourage you as to how far you have come in only half the time you have allotted.

2.      If you haven't achieved as much as you would have hoped, you can take heart that you still have six months in which to do it.

3.      If you find that your goals were either too ambitious or not ambitious enough, you can adjust them to be more realistic but still challenging.

So how did you fare the first half of 2011? Are you happy with your progress? Do you feel that you lived up to your potential?

As for myself, I am never really satisfied with what I have done. Not that there isn't satisfaction in seeing what has been accomplished, but I know that there are areas in which I could have done better. Nevertheless, I have learned to be realistic about this self assessment and not to beat myself up over it. I like to achieve and although this can be a very good thing, it can also cause me to be hard on myself when I don't do as well as I think I should. Through the years, and with some excellent coaching, I have come to understand that I can't always do everything I’d like to do, when I’d like to do it, but I have found that with a good plan in place, and through reviewing and tweaking my plan at regular intervals, I can do a lot more than I used to be able to do–and I make more steady progress!

Now, back to you achieving your goals for 2011. If you find that there is still considerable work to be done, I would advise you to reassess both your goals and your strategy plan. By the time you get to the end of June you should be able to tell what you are doing right, as well as what you are doing wrong. The key is to determine what you need to change. For instance, if your goal was to complete a study course in a certain subject and you have found that you are not covering the course material as quickly as you had hoped, try looking over your weekly schedule to see what you can cut out or adjust, so that you can devote more time to your studies. It is quite possible extra study time will come through forfeiting some of your down time or leisure time.

However, that said, all work and no play will make Jack and Jill dull boys and girls. Though sometimes entertainment and recreational activities can seem to be frivolous, it is important that you don't eliminate them entirely. Though admittedly these times are not as essential as many others, they are an important part of your life and can even prove significant in helping you relax and eliminate stress. One simple suggestion is that you make the down times rewards. Whenever you reach one of your smaller goals that is working towards accomplishing your main overall goal, treat yourself to a little reward of relax time. This will be incentive to reach your goals and you’ll enjoy the “reward” so much more.  

Be careful not to cut your time with friends and family much, if at all. Maintaining those links are vital and at the end of the day you will never regret letting personal ambitions and desires play second place to those you love. The world is full of examples of those who have done this and is a sadder place because of it.

Here are some questions you can ask yourself when doing your mid-year review.

• What have I accomplished so far this year?

                  (If you take time to think about this and write down your accomplishments you will most likely be amazed. Celebrate a job well done.)

• What are my priorities for the rest of the year?

                  (Don’t worry if your priorities have changed, that often happens to me. You never know what curve balls life will throw at you.)

• What is my plan to accomplish my priorities?

                  (If you need help in this area getting the help of a coach is an excellent idea.)

• What goals or projects need to be adjusted or dropped?

                  (Again, don’t worry if this needs to be adjusted, it’s just part of the process.)

• What projects/tasks have fallen off the radar? Do they need to be put back into the plan?

                  (Don’t worry if you haven’t made any progress on your goals, the good news is you still have six months left to accomplish them. If the problem is you just aren’t doing it but still want to, if you are really serious about them, as I said before, you can always hire a coach to hold you accountable.)

• When was the last time I rewarded myself, and when will be the next?

                  (This is a very important step to accomplishing success. Don’t skip rewarding or celebrating your wins.)

These are a few thoughts on a mid-year review. I hope they are a help to you.

(Dana Bosley is a certified life coach and can help you with goal setting, achieving those goals and holding you accountable. Write info@actionvisioncoaching.com to set up a time for a free consultation. Also there is a mid-year special deal on the Strategy Goal Setting Program. Check it out at www.actionvisioncoaching.com/Services.html.)