Effective Personal Quarterly Review

When you log back in to work on Monday it will already be the second quarter of the year. Yes, time flies! Some of you may already have meticulously planned annual goals, while others might feel a bit overwhelmed by the idea of annual goals and may not have any set up yet. Regardless of where you stand, this post aims to prompt a moment of reflection on your Q1 achievements and how you plan to navigate the rest of the year. This serves as a gentle reminder to revisit the concepts discussed in previous posts regarding annual retrospectives and planning your year, should you wish to refresh your memory.

Consider the analogy of the 1-in-60 rule from aviation: Even a slight one-degree error can result in being off course by a significant margin over a long journey (one mile miss for every 60 miles). Picture embarking on a flight from LAX to New York City, only to realize too late that a small 5% error has diverted you to Philadelphia instead. In much the same way, as we navigate our goals for the year, detecting and correcting errors early on can save us from shifting drastically off course later down the line. It emphasizes the importance of being vigilant and proactive in our approach to goal setting and adjustment.

How to conduct an Effective Personal Quarterly Review

Step 1: Reflect. As mentioned in this article, begin by dedicating time for reflection, a crucial step in effective planning. In just 12 minutes, you can kickstart this process:

1. Open your Calendar, Photo app, and Excel, and create a table with columns labeled "Weeks" (13 rows), "High," and "Low."

2. Conduct a one-minute audit per week of your calendar and photos. Document positives and negatives.

3. Celebrate positives and identify common themes.

4. Reflect on negatives, analyze common themes (anything to avoid or get better at?), and extract key learnings.

5. Continuously improve by strategizing how to amplify positives, mitigate negatives, and set realistic goals for the future.

Step 2: Evaluate yourself. If you've set annual goals, perform a Traffic Light (or RAG) status report for each [See my personal example below]:

• Green: On track to achieve the goal. Consider stretching it further if all goals are green.

• Amber: Uncertain; adjustments may be needed.

• Red: Off track; reconsider the goal or your approach.

Step 3: Adjust for Next Quarter. For goals in the amber or red zone, or for those without set annual goals, consider these options:

• Adjust expectations: Account for the "Planning Fallacy" by recalibrating your goals.

• Remove goals: Don't feel ashamed. Be realistic about what's achievable.

• Review systems: Ensure your systems effectively translate goals into daily actions. A Weekly Review is highly recommended.

• You still don’t have goals? Start by creating one right now (you can see my personal examples below for inspiration). It doesn’t need to be anything too fancy, just go get started with something small!

Bonus Step: Involve others. Extend this exercise to partners - engage your team at work and your spouse or significant other at home. Inclusion fosters appreciation for shared goals and incentivizes others to help with your progress.

Think of this review as a quick pit stop before continuing on your journey.

Yours Quarterly,

Jorge Luis Pando

P.S.: I often use writing these posts as a prompt to conduct these activities myself. Here, I'm sharing my own Personal Quarterly Review to keep it authentic. Feel free to reply to this email (or comment on the web version) with any questions or feedback.