Getting Ahead After Falling Behind

I am not the best at planning ahead or following through on plans. And yet, I love planners and organization tools. I've cycled through tons of them, partly because of shiny object syndrome and mostly the delusion that finding the right thing will magically change me into Ms. Perfectly Organized. Yeah I know it's an issue and I have been working at it.

For starters, I finally gave up the quest for the perfect planner and just started using plain notebooks. (I kind of accidentally started bullet journaling, I think) Essentially, I'm attempting to embrace the chaos of my brain while also making a better effort to plan things out ahead of time. And things were going really great, so I expected this year 2023 to be the year I finally got it together. But as always life threw a wrench at my face and knocked me the fuck out. So instead the head start I thought I was going to have, I've felt behind from day one.

The plan was to dedicate the entire last week to goal setting and project planning. It's the weird week between Christmas and New Year's day when nothing important happens and time doesn't make any sense, so it seemed perfect. As we neared the holidays I got myself hyped up and prepped to review the previous year, write out plans for the next one, set things up in my calendar and all that fun stuff. But midway through the week I got sick AF. (Literally, what I recorded in my notebook. See pic below.)

All that to say, the whole first half of this year I felt like I was playing catch-up. That ended up motivating me to do a midyear review and reset. I've done midyear reviews before, but that was just a way to celebrate some wins and stay motivated. This time around I wanted to do more than just make a list of what I accomplished. I'm taking the time to evaluate what goals I'm working toward, how I plan to accomplish them and what adjustments I can make. This includes some big picture planning and day to day details of schedule and routines.

Why Mid-Year

Yes, I know time is an illusion and our feeble man-made measurements are completely artificial and mostly arbitrary. But this is the world I was born into and I've been so well conditioned to it. I'd love to be more in tune with seasonal rhythms and natural cycles but I'm not there yet. So like most people, I line my goals up and mark milestones along the yearly calendar. And of course nothing says you can't change course, reevaluate your progress or start a new project at any time. But there's a certain satisfaction that comes with the symbolism of starting fresh at the beginning of the year, month, quarter or however you divide your year up.

I've started doing quarterly reviews, but they're usually quick and not very detailed. Personally, mid-year feels like the sweet spot. It's long enough that I can get a really good sense of how the year is going. By this point I've likely tried out a handful of different routines, schedules or strategies. I've had enough time to make a significant amount of progress and can evaluate what's worked and what hasn't. But it's still early enough in the year that can make adjustments if things haven't worked out like I wanted or I change my mind about what I wanted. I can make major changes to my original plans and still feel like the year wasn't wasted; there's time to make enough progress that the process feels worth it.

Look Back First

You don't know where you're going if you don't know where you've been. There's a reason that almost every successful person can be quoted saying something similar. It's true in a big picture you're whole life kind of way but it's also true in the day to day moving forward toward your goals kind of way. If you never take the time to look back at previous actions, decision, etc. you can never learn from them.

Before I do anything else, I make a list of everything I've accomplished and I include every little thing. It's important to celebrate even the smallest wins. The list will include any progress on current projects, blog post published, newsletters sent, books I read, workshop or classes I attended, submissions, contests entered, etc. I also include stuff related to health, fitness and personal goals. All too often they end up getting forgotten.

Besides lists of goals and accomplishments, it's a good idea to take some and consider what's been working well and what hasn't. During and after my list making, I'll note anything that stands out; a time period where I was really productive, when certain things got done most often, or an event helped me accomplish something I'd been putting off.

I try not to only focus on work and productivity. You have to appreciate happy or relaxing moments, things that bring joy and know what doesn't. Rest, relaxation and joy are just as important as routines, schedules and to-do list for success.

Making adjustments

No matter how well organized, determined or disciplined you are life rarely goes as planned. Things happen, you get sick, work gets extra busy, you get evicted and are forced to move to another state which plunges you into a depression. All of these have happened to me and totally wrecked my plans, for a week, a year, my entire life. Eventually, I learned that you have to just make adjustments.

Luckily we're just talking about a year and not a whole life so it's not that big a deal. I've had a lot of unexpected things happen this year. Thankfully good things, but I've been constantly making adjustments along the way. Not only have I had to make changes to my day to day schedule but my priorities have changed. Already this year I've adjusted the goal I set for completing my current work in progress and most likely will again.

I didn't really have a list of goals for this year, more like priorities and projects I knew I wanted to focus on. For the reset I wanted to get down some concrete goals. I started with some general ideas of what to focus on for the next six months then refined that to specific milestones for individual projects.

An action plan

When I talk about an action plan, I don't just mean creating schedules, lists of tasks or project milestones that will lead to accomplishing my goals. Yes, it is that but also more. It's about how I ensure that I do the things and what happens if I don't. Knowing what worked and what didn't informs how I keep moving forward. For example, I haven't really been sticking to a regular morning routine because lately it felt too constricting. But I've realized that when I don't, my day usually goes completely off the rails. So, I'm working on incorporating a little more flexibility into my usual morning routine.

I also know exactly what needs to stay the same. Last year, I started hosting virtual write-ins in order to have dedicated writing time that I could not skip out on. I've continued because it has helped me stay focused and on days I didn't feel like writing, I did because I had to. There are also other writing groups and co-working meetings that I attend on and off depending on my needs. I can attend them if I need additional writing time or to do specific types of work or a particular project. I also create tasks and events in my digital calendar for work that I know I'll need a reminder for.

I also like to have some ideas of ways to stay motivated, energized and have fun. I know I risk spiraling into the chaos of anxiety and depression if I don't plan in time for breaks and activities that are not about being productive or reaching a goal. I need to leave a little room for spontaneity, lazy days or whatever I decide counts as self-care at the moment. (Could be a bubble bath or bleaching my hair and dying it pink, I never know.)

Your Turn

There's still plenty of time to do your own mid-year check-in and even a reset if you need it. It doesn't have to be a major project. Give yourself an hour or more if you want to go back and review goals you set at the beginning of the year. Ask yourself if and how you've made progress toward them. Or you can do a quick list of what you've do so far and what else you'd like to accomplish by the end of the year. Then brainstorm ideas for how to stay accountable and get it done.

I'd love to hear how you're doing. Let me know in the comments what you're celebrating and what comes next.