So, a few people have asked me how exactly I walk through a “quarterly review” for my goals. And I’m happy to be sharing in this post (part written, part video) how I take time to evaluate my progress!
I’m a pretty goal-oriented kind of gal. I make all the lists. I write all the things. And I research a ton on the front end to help with the steps that are necessary for the actualization of my goals. Now, am I always successful in every endeavor? No. And here’s why: it doesn’t matter how much time and effort you put in on the front end of a project. If you aren’t willing to put in the work towards the steps that will see those goals and dreams come to fruition AND evaluate your progress along the way, your execution will be inaccurate and minimal in potential at best. So, as I’ve grown in my own leadership, personal, and professional pursuits, I first have to write it down, but I’ve also got to review my progress overtime to ensure I’m on the right track. I’ve found that when I commit to this process, I WILL see growth in whatever goal or area I’m looking to grow in. As many of us aspire growth, allow this post to help guide you in accountability to your own self-improvement and make a plan for continued growth overtime.
During this process, I find myself asking three big questions: (1) What were my original goals? (2) What has worked & why? and (3) What needs adjusting? Pretty simple, right? Exactly. But without these questions, we often make aimless efforts at the goals we desperately want to see come to pass without putting the proper support in place to see them through. In this post, I describe how each of these questions makes me realign my focus so that you can better understand what a “quarterly review” looks like for me.
- REDEFINE: What were my original goals? So, this question is intended for me to look back on my original goals. It’s also the chance to recognize if I need to redefine my original goals by rewording, making them more specific, adding new goals, or even changing (or omitting) any goals. This step will help you see whether or not you truly put in the time to define where you want to go in the first place. Did you even write your goals out? Did you write them down in a journal or a notebook or a word processor? Somewhere you can look back on them? If so, great! Do they need redefining in structure? Do you need to add in any new goals? Did you recognize there’s a goal that needs to be more specific? If you didn’t write them out—GO WRITE THEM OUT RIGHT NOW!! You can’t move forward in “reviewing” if there’s nothing to review, friend! Once you’ve done that, write out 2-3 action steps per goal that can help you in achieving those goals. After that, move on to step two!
- REINFORCE: What has worked and why? Step two is all about your wins. What is working? What habits or action steps have been going great? What have you noticed is super helpful in achieving the goal itself or progress towards the goal(s)? Whatever your goals were and whatever you outlined your action plan to be–what parts of the action steps are you straight killin’? What deserves a pat on the back? Which parts can you honestly say are getting you closer to where you want to be? These are the parts of reviewing that should make you feel good about yourself! Be honest with yourself, too!
- REFINE: And finally, step three is looking at what areas need some more work? What needs adjusting? Where am I falling short of my action plan? Of my progress? What are the roadblocks to my progress and success in this area? How can I adjust, refine, eradicate, or simply change the not-so-helpful habits that are sabotaging my growth here? Again, BE HONEST WITH YOURSELF. In the video I discuss a couple categories that I wanted to see growth in like building community and finances. Below, I’ve included a chart of another example which is a combination of 1-2 goals from the latter half of 2018 that were combined with similar goals for this year.
|
Area of Desired Growth: Become a more organized family with our time, talents, and resources.
|
|||
|
Action Steps
|
Redefine
|
Reinforce
|
Refine
|
|
Create & monitor a family calendar.
Use our gifts more to bless others.
Create, maintain, & monitor budget.
|
We wanted to become a more organized family with our time, talents, and resources. This is still a good version of this goal.
This goal is a big umbrella which works when we were just starting out, but can definitely be broken down into more specific goals now. Let’s work towards mapping out what those look like for us.
|
I love the family calendar we’ve instituted in a visible area in the house.
Opening up our home to bless others through food, fellowship, and friendship has been good for making progress towards this goal.
Bi-weekly budget planning has been instrumental to getting on the same page about our finances.
|
Every Sunday, let’s be more intentional with discussing the week (events, practices, date nights, family time, and grocery runs).
Let’s also be sure to schedule REST. This is so easily forgotten, but most be kept at the forefront in order to maintain sanity, peace, and full cups to pour into others!
Let’s set some specific financial goals in a different category.
|
If you have a chance, watch my video where I explain a little more about some other categories in my life that I’ve set out to grow in and monitor progress.
If you think about it, the greatest leaders, business men and women, teachers, and professionals practice this on multiple levels in ways that make sense for them. Business owners review sales; teachers have appraisals; and other professionals model reviewing practices in various ways on some level or another. Why, then, wouldn’t we as individuals dedicate the same attention–if not more–to the gift of our own lives? God has blessed us each with our own unique gifts and callings. Our own personal purpose and destiny. It’s up to us to steward what we’ve been given on a continual basis in order to best navigate our gifts in the way God intends us to use them. Here’s the thing: our obedience, our stewardship is connected to so many other people who need something from us. So my “quarterly review” isn’t just an activity about me. No; it’s an opportunity to optimize the gifts God has placed in my care: my talents, my passions, and the people I’ve been assigned to. Friends, connect to the Source, fill up on what He wants to pour into you, so that every day you can walk in the fullness of your goals and dreams that He is calling you to.
All my love,
Brianne
You are definitely on your way to amazing. Love you 😘
Great breakdown regarding how to review your goals quarterly. I will be implementing a few of these ideas myself.