By Chelsea Babin

The year is over half way over, can you believe it? Back in January, you probably set goals and may have added to that list along the way. If you want to make sure you achieve the goals you set at work, you need to conduct a mid-year goals check in. Why? For these three reasons.

1. Evaluate Your Progress: The best thing that a mid-year goals check in can do for your work related goals is to evaluate your progress. What have you accomplished this year? What have you slacked off on? What goals did you set that you’re really focusing on? What goals did you set that you haven’t made enough progress on yet? Ask yourself these questions to better understand what you’ve achieved this year and what you need to focus on to finish the year off right.

2. Weed Out the Unnecessary: Sometimes, we set too many work related goals at the beginning of the year or we set goals that are too ambitious. Additionally, some people just set goals at the beginning of the year and don’t evaluate how relevant they are to their job along the way. A mid-year check in is the perfect time to weed out the unnecessary so you can really focus on what needs to be achieved.

3. Course Correct If Needed: If you set goals and abandoned or ignored them, conducting a mid-year check in could reinvigorate your motivation and inspire you to get back on track, course correct, and achieve more this year.

Now that you know why you should, here are a few tips to help your goals check in be as effective as possible.

1. Look At the Big Picture and the Small Details: When you’re doing a mid-year check in on your work goals it’s important to look at the big picture and the small, every day details. If you want to accurately assess your progress, you need to establish loftier plans like where you want to be in your career in the next 5 years while balancing those with what you’d like to be focusing on every day and what you need to focus on every day to be effective at your job. The micro and the macro are essential during your mid-year check in so make sure to evaluate both.

2. Make a More/Less List: Sometimes, our goals from January do not fit where our career or intentions are going just a few months later. In order to clarify what you really want to be doing more of, less of, and what goals you want to be focusing on, you should make a more/less list. Split a piece of paper with a line down the middle. On one side, write down what you’d like to be doing more of at work. On the other, write down what you’d like to be doing less of at work. See how this matches up or diverts from the goals you’ve set for yourself and adjust accordingly.

3. Set a Deadline and Plan in Reverse: Yes, you’ve set a goal and you want to accomplish it this year, but have you actually made a plan for it yet? If your progress on a certain goal has stagnated, it’s time to set a specific deadline and plan each actionable step you’ll take towards it in reverse.

4. Break Lofty Goals into Manageable Chunks: If you made a lofty goal at the beginning of the year and haven’t made a lot of progress towards achieving it, this could be due to intimidation. The size and scope of lofty goals often discourage us from making immediate progress, but large goals are often incredibly rewarding. So, what should you do? Break your lofty goals into smaller, manageable chunks. Set tiny deadlines along the way to the big, looming deadline at the end of the year. You’ll gain accomplishment momentum and stay on track with your lofty goals a lot better if you do this.

Setting goals is great, both at work and in your personal life. But, with over half the year behind us, it’s important to evaluate your progress, correct course if needed, and make sure you’re on the right track otherwise these goals won’t get accomplished. Conduct your mid-year goals check in today!