Midyear reset

We are just about halfway through 2020. I can’t quite process that in some ways. So much has happened. So much has changed. At the end of the first quarter of the year, I reviewed my goals, my rhythms and routines and made some changes. Some things worked. Some didn’t. The second quarter is almost done. I am both looking forward to and dreading this next review. Maybe you need a midyear reset as I do.

Before I started doing quarterly reviews, I had a practice of a midyear reset. Sometimes goals need to change partway through the year in response to life events or new opportunities. A routine that works in one season doesn’t work for the next. I used to get so angry at myself when this happened thinking it was simply a lack of commitment or laziness on my part. My approach was rigid and all-or-nothing. 

The goals and plans I set at the start of the year are important. I am not talking about giving up just because the work to reach a goal is hard. I am talking about when a goal becomes irrelevant or ill-timed. This year more than ever has highlighted the need for adaptability and pivoting. The second half of the year still contains so much uncertainty. For me, it also contains some huge work changes deferred from earlier in the year.

A midyear reset is an opportunity to stop and breathe. It allows me to process some of what has happened up to this point. It gives me some clear space to look ahead. The time invested in this process is worth the logistical battle to carve out. It takes focus, brutal honesty and commitment to the bigger picture of who you want to be as a person.

How to do a midyear reset

These are some areas that I review as part of this reset process:

Celebrate the wins

I tend to want to skip this part and focus on everything that went wrong or needs to change. It is vital to acknowledge what you have achieved and celebrate the wins- both big and small. I find this sets up my mindset to be more positive and motivated.

Review goals

What goals did you set for yourself at the beginning of the year or the last quarter? Which ones have you completed? What progress have you made?

Review strategies, rhythms and routines

What worked? What didn’t? List the strategies you will continue to use, the ones you want to start using and ones you are leaving behind. For me, this usually focuses on ways I am managing my time and my go-to avoidance habits.

Reset goals

I decide which goals I will continue to work on and rewrite them in detail- using Michael Hyatt’s SMARTER goal principles. This may be refocusing on a goal I had let slide, introducing a completely new goal or continuing to take steps forward in existing goals. 

Reset schedules and rhythms

I look ahead to the big events and timelines coming up. I review what has and has not been working in my daily and weekly routines and rhythms. Then I rewrite my ideal week and daily rituals for the next quarter.

There are many ways to approach a midyear reset. Currently, I am using the Full Focus Planner with built-in review pages. I can also highly recommend my friend Amanda Vivier’s workbook Reset for this too. This is your invitation to lead yourself well and set yourself up for a deliberate second half of an insane year.