by Samantha Mdluli
It seems like January was just yesterday when we popped open champagne bottles and some even knelt down in churches thanking the Almighty for the gift of life we did all this as a means to welcome the new year.
I’m sure it comes as a shock to you, (I mean it’s truly shocking for most of us myself included) to find that we’re nearing the half-year mark and we’re closer to the end of the year than its beginning. Alternatively, if you haven’t set any goals, then the halfway point of the year is a good time to take stock of how your life has progressed during this period and to select a few meaningful goals so that the second half of the year brings deliberate direction to your life -assuming you’re like more than half of people, and the early-year goals you set have been jettisoned months ago and you feel like you haven’t accomplished ? The real question is, are you ready to get back on track with your goals?
Do not despair you still have months to make significant accomplishments by the end of the year. Here are a few tips to give you a mid-year reboot.
Review
It’s best to look back over the previous six months and review our progress so far.
- Celebrate your successes
- Celebrate your positive progress
- Analyse and understand what didn’t work and why
- Reset your goals for the coming six months, making them clear and measurable
- Do more of the actions which brought about your successes
- Do less of, change, or cut out altogether, those actions which didn’t result in success
Goal Re-evaluation
Sharpen your focus for the balance of the year. Re-energize your vision. Clarify what you need to do to accomplish your goals. Why’d you lost momentum and what do you truly want to accomplish next? Sometimes resolutions are made because out of obligation with the new year and aren’t necessarily what you’re in pursuit of
- Think about whether you have the time to dedicate to pursuing it.
- Ensure the goal is in line with your values.
- Is it realistic or tangible?
- make sure you’re focusing on the things that matter most to you on any given day
- Apply the S.M.A.R.T. goals approach and write your goals down and evaluate
(specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time sensitive)
Consistency should become a habit
Sticking with a goal for 12 months or longer requires tons of discipline and the effort has to nearly double to reach that goal in the last six months of the year. Be time specific about the steps you’ll need to take, habits you need to build, and the performance levels you seek.
- Concentrate on just starting each day do just one simple thing each day. Get into a routine cause when you start big you might feel overwhelmed and feel like giving up– a habit is developed by taking small steps. Stop focusing on the result – in the beginning, the most important thing is to form the habit itself, and then work on improving the final result.
- Never beat yourself up over having to start over. It’s a waste of energy that you could be using to make progress on what you want.
- You need to actually put in the work
“If I must start somewhere, right here and now is the best place imaginable.’’ – Richelle E. Goodrich
Time Management
Time is a commodity and as much as you guard your piece you should be spending your time wisely.
- Get to know your peak performance times and reserve those times for the work where you need to be highly productive or creative
- Prioritisation
- Turn off the alerts to your phone.
You can set a new course every day and begin to move in the right direction at any time. Keep it simple. The Choose simple, specific goals to focus on, and you’ll surprise yourself by what you accomplish by year’s end. Always remember there’s really no rule that says goals are only set in January and that nothing will ever work if you’re not willing to put in the work. I hope we are ready to get going on the next six months of the year there are 4,416 hours to complete your goals…and the clock is ticking!
