This will be a special episode since it’s just before Xmas.
This was as much for my own clarity than anything else.
So no long writing, just off-the-cuff reflections, no editing, just me spilling the beans on life behind the scenes.
Do you review regularly?
What gets measured gets managed.
We live in a distracting world.
Resilience and consistency is the no1 skill most people lack for building something long term.
Reviewing regularly helps you get clarity, adjust your behaviour and stay on track for long term plans.
I perform micro reviews and macro reviews.
Micro
- Daily 5mins
- tasks
- habits
- moods
- plan tomorrow
- Weekly 5 mins
- weekly theme
- Most important thing
- next week
Macro
- Monthly 60mins
- Answer reflection questions
- Business admin
- Review marketing strategy
- Review financials
- Review team training
- Quarterly 60mins
- Review big picture plan
- Make sure daily actions align
- Reassess priorities
- Assign Quarterly sprint goals
- Annual (more abstract) 15mins
- look back
- analyse
- reassess
- clarity
Writing things and saying things help you work things out in a way that thinking alone sometimes fails at.
Daily Review template
- Most important thing done?
- Habit checklist
- Task checklist
- Plan tomorrow
Weekly Review template
Scan your calendar from week
Q’s
- Did I do the Most Important Task?
- Am I happy with how I spent my time?
- Did I work on weekly theme?
- What problems came up that I could avoid in future?
- Were there any unanticipated time sinkholes? (And how could I avoid them going forward?)
- How much free time did I have?
Delete old tasks
You’ll see tasks from many months ago, which unbeknownst to you act as a mental tax. Be honest with yourself and delete the ones you have no intention of doing. (My rule of thumb is that if it’s been on the list for more than a quarter, I delete it.)
Monthly Review Template
- What was your goal last month?
- What are your biggest wins?
- What have you failed to take action on?
- Biggest “Aha” moment?
- What are you struggling with the most?
- What have you improved the most?
- What’s your focus for next month?
You can schedule an email to yourself at end of each month and reply to yourself.
Or even better, find a peer to partner with and hold each other accountable.
Store the answers in one place and look back during your annual review.
At the end of the year I often feel I’ve done nothing, until I look back at my monthly review. You’ll be amazed at how much you’ve done.
Quarterly Trajectory Review
- Health
- goal
- method
- daily actions
- Personal
- goal
- method
- daily actions
- Relationships
- …
- Business
- Financial
- Travel
Example of how to break down your goals into daily steps:
goal
fitter in my 40s than in my 30s
method
exercise
daily actions
- ♻️ habit – rowing machine and do 1k every day (5 mins)
- ♻️ Habit – jog with doggo every day with audiobook (10 mins)
- ♻️ habit – lift weights every day (10 mins before lunch)
