The last several months have felt quite whirlwind-y to me:
My youngest kiddo graduated from high school.
I celebrated a milestone birthday.
My business is undergoing massive transformation as it approaches its 20-year anniversary.
Throw in various family, health, and world events, and some days I picture myself a bit like the ‘Taz’ cartoon character from days gone by!
While I’ve shifted from excited to exhausted to exhilarated and back, I have also been purposeful about taking time to reflect on the past and envision the ideal future, as well. You probably know by now my love for the Weekly Review + Planning Session (aka, Weekly R+P) as well as similar processes at other points throughout the year. This season I’ve kicked it up a notch, asking myself a ton of questions to help ensure that my next chapter is my best chapter. I thought I’d share some of those questions with you, so you can ask them of yourself whether as a midyear – or midmonth, or even midlife – inventory.
After considering the questions below, if you’d like help gaining clarity on your best next chapter and how to actually achieve it, please reach out – I will soon have openings for new coaching clients and I’d love to chat with you about possibilities!
Conducting Your Personal Review + Planning Session
Step 1: Gather your journal, pen, and a beverage, and find a quiet space.
Step 2: Determine the time frame for your review. I’ve phrased the questions as a midyear inventory; for my recent birthday, however, I actually did a general life review in decades, then envisioned and planned for the decade ahead. Choose and reword accordingly.
Step 3: Ask yourself the following questions, or pick and choose the ones that speak to you, or create your own list – whatever serves you best!
REVIEWING:
(Respond without being humble and without any self-criticism or judgment.)
Looking back over the first half of the year…
1. What are some of my highlights? What makes these stand out for me?
2. What challenges have I faced? What helped / is helping me work through them?
3. If I could choose a word or theme to represent the first half of the year, what would I choose?
4. What lessons have I learned or been reminded of about myself, my work, my community / world, life in general?
5. What has contributed to my growth, personally and professionally? (For example, a class you took, coach you hired, group you joined, etc)
6. What goals did I set for this year, and how am I doing with them?
7. What habits have I started? What habits have I stopped? What have I continued? How are these impacting me?
8. What relationships (family, professional, friendships, etc) have I established or strengthened this year?
9. What stand out as favorites so far this year? Think books, blogs, foods, movies, workouts, whatever comes to mind.
10. Overall, how would I describe my first half of the year?
ENVISIONING + PLANNING:
(Dream and have fun with this section, focusing on the what and not the how.)
As I look ahead to the second half of the year…
11. What highlight moments do I want to experience? At the end of the year, what do I truly want to be celebrating?
12. What obstacles might I face along the way? How can I best prepare for them?
13. What word or theme do I proactively choose now to describe my second half of the year?
14. What guiding principles, life lessons, or mantras will be helpful to keep in mind?
15. What class, coach, book, conference, and/or other resources will I commit to in order to grow personally and professionally?
16. What is my top-priority goal(s) for the second half of the year? How will I keep this present, alive, and moving forward?
17. What habits do I commit to starting, stopping, and continuing? What will help me stay on track? (Note: Don’t overlook the ‘continue’ portion of this question! Pay attention to what’s working for you so you can intentionally keep it going.)
18. With whom do I want to build or strengthen a relationship? Feel free to name names here, as well as general ideas like ‘a mentor in my industry.’
19. What areas do I want to develop or learn more about? What books will I read in the second half of the year? (Search ‘books’ on my blog for countless recommendations!)
20. On December 31, as I look back over this entire year, what do I most want to say about it? How will I describe it? What other actions will help ensure this becomes my reality?
If you’d like to see how I answered some of these questions myself, be sure to subscribe to my newsletter (and grab your free Big Dreams, Bold Goals! workbook while you’re at it)!
What highlight stands out from your first half of the year? What goal, event, or activity are you particularly excited about in the second half? Share below!
Ready to design and achieve your BEST next chapter? Christi Hegstad, PhD, PCC can help! Reach out today to discuss possibilities!