Amid the heat of summer and the craziness of vacation season, it's easy to lose track of one simple fact -- half of 2023 is already behind us. Just being reminded of that truth might strike fear in the hearts of some entrepreneurs who started 2023 full of goals and enthusiasm but started to drift from their aims as the months went by.
But January doesn't have a monopoly on fresh starts. Midyear is as good a time as any to review your progress, reconsider your vision for 2023, and recommit to updated goals. After all, six months may have flown by, but you still have six months left to make a difference in your life.
How do you get on track to have an amazing final half of the year? A variety of coaches, therapists, and assorted organizational gurus all suggest some version of a "midyear reset." I scoured their websites and articles for a list of 10 of their most thought-provoking questions to help you reflect on your year so far and plan to get the most out of the second half of 2023.
- What's the best thing that has happened to me in each month of this year so far? It's easier to adjust your goals from a place of strength and joy than failure and disappointment. "I think we can have a tendency to focus on what we haven't yet done, but I would urge people to go through each month of 2023 so far and pick out what's been good, what you have done, and where you have made strides," life coach Natalie Trice suggests to Stylist. "Some reflection can really help show you what doesn't fit anymore, what goals weren't meant for you, and where to go now."
What things do you want to stop doing over the next six months? Focus, as Steve Jobs reminded us, is all about saying no. The more things that aren't working for you that you can prune from your life, the more time and energy you'll have for the things that are.
What habits do I need to establish to reach my goals for the year? The difference between a dream and a goal is just a detailed plan. "Whatever your goals are, you will have to establish the habits that will make them happen," executive coach Noona Nafousi tells Stylist. "Remember to break them down. Small steps are easier to digest, but add up to something bigger."
What small actions can I do right now to bring me closer to my goals? "Immediately take action on something that bubbled up" during your reset, suggests entrepreneur coach Tonia Kendrick, who offers an example: "I realized that I was spending (wasting!) too much time on social media and checking email. So I installed a Chrome extension to limit the amount of time I spend on those activities."
What caused any delays in reaching my goals so far? It's great to plot and plan your journey forward, but it won't do you much good unless you also identify and remove any recurring roadblocks that keep you from reaching your goals.
Are there any doom pile items I can check off my list right now? Your "doom pile" is that stack of small, perpetually postponed to-do list items that piles up at the corner of your desk and in your noisy brain. Rather than let that long-delayed dentist appointment or bit of mind-numbing business admin haunt you for the next six months, why not check it off your list now?
What things am I most grateful for this year so far? "You can make your list as inclusive and wide as you want. Take a moment to review your list and see if there are any consistent themes or ideas that come up, because this could be an indication of where to place your energy for the remainder of the year," psychotherapist Eloise Skinner tells Stylist.
What do I want the rest of the year to feel like? This question is great for more visual and hands-on types and comes via site An Organised Life: "Get reinspired with what you want your life to look and feel like by creating a vision or mood board for the remainder of [the year] ... Start with a concept--this could be a word you want to focus on, a project, or include key areas of your life (family, exercise, self-care, or travel)--and start getting creative. A mood board can also help motivate you to pick up projects again that may have been put on hold."
What have I learned so far this year? A midyear reset is the perfect time to review and solidify your learnings for the year by reflecting and writing down lessons learned. And if you haven't been devoting as much time to learning as you should, it's also the perfect time to recommit to self-improvement and make a plan to add more reading, thinking, studying, and all-around learning to your life.
How will I feel at the end of this year if I continue to drift away rather than get closer to accomplishing my goals? Need a little motivational kick in the pants to close out your midyear reset? Then use this question to force yourself to visualize exactly how frustrated and disappointed you'll be if you don't get your butt in gear to accomplish your goals.
Six months is a good chunk of time. That might bum you out if you don't think you spent the first half of 2023 as productively as you should have, but it's also encouraging. You still have plenty of runway left to squeeze more joy and accomplishment out of this year. Just ensure you make the most of it by pausing to think through exactly how you'd like to approach the rest of 2023.
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