A mid-year review is always a good idea but it seems essential right now. Did you make any plans in January that you’ve had to set aside because of the pandemic? That’s been the case for probably all of us. Let’s review and regroup, shall we?
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Mid-Year Review During a Pandemic
None of us could have foreseen what 2020 had in store when we were making our plans and setting goals for the year ahead. Did you have special trips or concerts planned? Were you going to make 2020 the year you hosted monthly dinner parties? Or like Amy Landino, were you going to stop using a certain curse word? Sometimes life throws you a curve ball and this year it seems the pitcher is actually aiming at the batter. Repeatedly.
My 2020 Word of the Year is “Harmony”. Considering all the strife in our world right now that might seem rather ironic. However, I still believe that seeking harmony and balance in my personal life was the right choice for this year. In my post about my word of the year I wrote about how our music business/non-profit had taken over our lives and I wanted more balance in that area.
Be careful what you wish for or you just might get it. All of our music events have been canceled for the entire year. It was initially pretty disappointing but you know what? It was just what David and I needed. Obviously I don’t think that a pandemic and all the pain and death it is causing is a good thing because it’s giving us more personal time. Of course not. But I do believe in making the best of whatever situation we find ourselves in. Looking for the silver lining…right?
I’m sure you’ve had to make adjustments this year but have you looked at your original 2020 goals and made specific changes? Or like many of us have you metaphorically torn up your goal list and allowed the winds of change to blow the pieces hither and yon? No one would fault you for the latter but I think there’s a better way. Let’s do a mid-year review and see what we can do with the second half of this “interesting” year.
1. What were your goals and plans for 2020?
If you have a written goal list for the year take a look at it. You may find a few things that are actually going according to plan. Put a smiley face by each of those and celebrate. Good job!
2. What has gone well this year?
It can feel like this year has been nothing but a series of challenges but I’ll bet if you give it some thought you can think of some good things. If you’re not already keeping a gratitude journal this would be a good time to start one. We need the perspective it can offer.
3. Cross out the goals and plans which are no longer feasible for 2020.
If you had vacations or events planned which have been canceled you need to remove them from your list. There is no sense having reminders of what should have been staring you in the face when you have no control over the situation. Cross them off and move on.
4. What about goals you’ve simply let slide?
Are there goals on your list that are still important to you but for whatever reason you’ve stopped working on them? One of mine was to walk on our treadmill for 20 minutes every day. And I was doing really well! Until our treadmill stopped working. David took it apart and oiled it. It would run about 2 minutes then suddenly stop. This was about the time of the initial shut-down and we all had other things on our minds. And before you know it, a good habit was gone. But I decided to try the treadmill again. I lowered the incline from 5% to 0% to reduce the strain on the motor and was able to do 20 minutes without it shutting down. So this goal is back on my list and my fingers are crossed the the treadmill cooperates. Is there something you can recommit to for the second half of the year?
5. Can you alter some goals?
Perhaps you can tweak a goal or two to better fit your current situation. If you set a goal to attend 5 live concerts in 2020 maybe you can watch 5 livestream concerts or filmed events from the past. No, it’s not the same but it can still be enjoyable. Be creative and try to find alternatives where possible.
6. Do you want to add a new goal or two?
I believe we are being given an opportunity to see things in a clearer light and maybe even the incentive we need to make changes. I’ve known for a long time that I need to change my relationship with social media. I’m now on a “social media diet” for the next few weeks. I still have to manage some Facebook pages and groups but I’m doing so in as limited a fashion as possible. I’ve deleted the Facebook and Twitter apps from my phone. If you’re interested I can write a post in more detail about what I’m doing but for the purposes of this post, it’s enough to say that this latest goal was set as a result of current times and not in spite of them.
7. Print a fresh copy of your goals for the second half of 2020
Tuck that original copy away somewhere for posterity and then print a brand new one. Hang it somewhere easily visible. Remind yourself of your new goals daily. Print a habit tracker and use it.
8. Honor your commitments but give yourself grace.
These are difficult times and we shouldn’t beat ourselves up. Many, if not most, are struggling on some level. Anxiety, fear, depression, grief, disappointment, anger, insomnia and a lack of energy are all extremely common right now. I do think that some goals, direction and intentions can help us feel better and give us a sense of control. Even if it’s something as simple as a 5 minute walk every day. But at the same time, we need to recognize that it’s taking a lot of emotional energy just to get through a “normal” day right now. Do your best and then give yourself grace for the days that don’t go very well.
I’d like to hear from you. Did you set goals in January? How are they going? Do you need to reevaluate them for the second half of the year? Let’s encourage one another and make the second half of 2020 one we can look back upon with a sense of satisfaction in how we handled adversity.
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The Productive Woman podcast – Mid-Year Reflection
Oh, what has it done? Started off doing taxes,till that all shut down but that gave me chance to take a personal we development class wanted to take last fall that didn’t get to, then also waa able to take on a less stressful job that went right on through but allowed me to be home,most of the,time hub worked from home then was able to finish up online a class started last fall, then being able to start another one to make up for some scores that got lost, ergh, but free!
It sounds like some good things have come out of it for you and your husband.That’s great!
I kept my goals for this year simple, so as it happens I’m not doing too badly with them. I have tweaked my blogging schedule (though I’m still blogging five days a week) and had to revise some of my writing goals. Plus, my self care plan isn’t going too well. But I’m on track for my reading goal, so that’s something.
Pirate Day got cancelled, and I don’t know for sure what will happen about the Jason Donovan concert planned for early December, though I heard it’s being rescheduled for next year. Those are the big events I wanted to go to this year. I was looking forward to the concert especially, so really hope it does go ahead (though I’ll be surprised if it isn’t either cancelled or rescheduled).
So many disappointing cancelations this year. I’m trying to look at the bright side and keep in mind how much more we will appreciate concerts and other events when we finally get back to “normal”. I know I’ll never take travel for granted again.