Well it happened: you blinked a half the year was over! Lots of business consultants will tell you that the end of June or start of July is the time for your “Mid-Year Review” – a chunk of time to revisit your goals for the year, decide if you are on track, and make changes as needed. Some business owners try to avoid these sessions, and I think a lot of that has to do with how they approach it in their mind.
So for this Mid-Year I’d like to propose that instead of planning a “Review” (with all the weight that word sometimes carries), you plan a “Refresh” for yourself and your business. Here’s how to do it:
First, open your calendar and look at each workday in the month of July. Which day is currently the most free? This is now your Mid-Year Refresh. Block the entire day on your calendar. Hopefully you have an empty day – but if you already have a meeting or two on your least busy workday, send a quick note letting folks know you will need to reschedule and cancel the meeting immediately afterwards.
Second, ask yourself: what would I do for myself if I was in town and had a morning, afternoon or evening free to relax and destress? Decide which of these three times you would most like for yourself and what you would do with your current resources. This is the first part of your refresh: doing something for yourself. Maybe it will cost some money – like getting a massage, going to a sporting event/museum/movie, or taking yourself to a nice meal. If you’d rather conserve funds you could go to a free community event, go for a walk someplace you love, or schedule a non-business catch up with a friend. Once you’ve decided on something determine how much time to allot (probably between 1-3 hours).
Third, complete each of the following questions:
- “The one thing I know is working best in my business is…”
- “The one thing I need to figure out how to stop doing is…”
- “The one part of my business I am not clear about is…”
Look at your three answers and make them the basis for three periods of quiet reflection and planning during your Refresh day. Plan to spend 1 hour thinking about that piece of your business that works best – should you be dedicating more time to this? could you copy the system or lessons that make this part of the business function to another area of the business? Plan to spend 2 hours thinking about that piece of your business that you need to stop doing – what needs to change for you to accomplish this? can you break the change down into smaller steps? what timeline can you establish for each smaller step to be completed? Plan to spend 3 hours researching the part of your business you are not clear about: this might involve looking at and analyzing data you have, talking to someone who can provide advice, or doing a deep dive on the internet to find answers you have not had time to locate.
Next, to ensure that you are free of distractions – settle 1 (or more) “off site” locations to think about these questions. You don’t have to go somewhere that costs a lot of money to do this. A few examples of free locations where you can usually sit quietly for a few hours with pencil and paper to write include: public libraries, university campuses, hotel lobbies, place of workshop, or even in a parked car with a nice view.
Finally, put all these pieces together. Go back to the day you reserved for your Refresh and put everything into your calendar. Start by consider whether or want to do something for yourself to start, break up, or finish the day. Then determine how best to put your other thinking/researching times into the calendar and what off-site location or locations you want to schedule them in. If your day starts or ends with the time for yourself then all you thinking may be at one location. If your time for yourself breaks the day if half you may chose to move from one location earlier in the day to another later.
Now stick to your plan. Don’t let other work related obligations intrude on your Mid-Year Refresh! Maintain the work/life balance in the day. I promise that at the end of this day, you will be glad to set it aside. You might even decide you want to make it a practice more often.