A Short Guide to Mid-Year Review
If I drag my desk back to January and then to April, then again to March, and again somewhere in the past, it will probably either give me a side eye or make any toddler-like cranky gesture. I mostly try to avoid squabbles. That day too, I came back from the time machine and parked my thinking Jaguar near the desk. That day was July 3, the first Monday of mid-year. But some footmarks were still there. The laptop screen was staring at my confused face. It had past quarters’ folders, although they were a little bit messy.
My breakfast bowl had some idea about this unheard-of emotional jargon. By the time I finished its last berry, it had toppled off. It had an attentive flying down motion. I caught the ceramic bowl like any ninja. It was a moment of pride. I saved a chunk of some messy minutes and a ceramic bowl's life! It was a win-win.
It’s mid-year, and surely it has a list of some undone stuff. This first month of quarter 3 must have expected dozens of commitments from the "productive clan". July stands at the border of goals and activities. Look, even its "y" has a straight standing posture, as if a huffy watcher is observing us! But the trick is how to save both the past commitments and the next layers of plans without tickling the regularity.
The first half of the year had so many questions, and probably the rest will have answers. But as always, it’s not at all easy to align them as they should be. Anyone who is particular about goals and who is equally passionate about accomplishing them must have thought to give a long review of their past month's work. If you are the one, and if you still have doubts and fears, then I can assure you of one thing, you've got many other things to celebrate. You have a clearer picture of where you are at this time. But watch out if you’re only plucking up the negative sides or if you’re somehow dooming yourself down for not achieving the highest peak; then the negative discussion could drag baggage from those last months.
Mid-year reviews are for giving yourself a fresh perspective. It shouldn’t slow you down. The question is, How far should you review? How could this review become more uplifting rather than exhausting? How much more could you possibly do for the next phase?
We can start with a chart. It needs three sections.
The first section is for "Archived Goals," with three points referring to the goals. The points could be based on experience, efficiency, and effort. Reward yourself on these three points.
The second section is for "Unachieved Goals," and again, there are three points regarding this part. These points could list reasons, remarks, and resources. This part connects us to the third section.
The third section is for balancing the old and new ones. We already have a yearly set of plans, and we will try to connect the past six months to the next six months.
We can have an amalgamation of this kind of outlook,
One: to continue past quarters’ undone activities patiently.
Two: to go by the yearly plans unpretentiously.
Three: to modify some existing stuff strategically.
In every calendar block, either we have a shiny tick or a drowsy cross. But when these efforts meet, they don’t count the individuality of their “block” existence. It should be our requisite choice to take ourselves to the next step of the achievement ladder with the gracious acceptance of our individual efforts. I call that Ina*.
These efforts form a long and sturdy chain of efficiency. Sooner or later, that will make your own opulent productivity poster.
(*In Sanskrit, Ina (इन).—a. means determined or anything that is powerful.)