Photo Credit: Markus Winkler on Unsplash

It’s hard to believe another quarter has gone by, I say this every quarter and it feels like time is actually speeding up!

Firstly I hope you and your loved ones are safe and you have used the time at home with family/in solitude/self isolation/social distancing etc to enrich your life in whatever way benefits you best.

This post is 6 simple steps to review your strategy for Q3, whether you have a a business or personal strategy or both, the principles are the same. 

Your personal/business strategy should support you to create a sustainable business and/or creating a fulfilled, purposeful and meaningful life. In saying that your business and personal strategy is only as good as the reviews you do and the changes you make as a result of these reviews.

The quarterly review is my favourite review because there is way more progress quarterly than can be seen daily, weekly and monthly which is always motivating. As humans we are wired to perform better when we are making progress which is why strategy reviews are so important. 

You may not think you are making progress in your life/business but you are probably making much more progress than you think!

There is only about 90 DAYS left in this year. 

This is the time to decide what really needs to get done in terms of your goals for 2020 and what goes on the ‘Not To Do’ list. 

90 DAYS go by so fast, what do you really want to finish this year?

Below are 6 simple steps to carry out your personal/business Q3 review and an insight into mine. 

6 simple steps to carry out your personal/business quarterly review:

1. Review your goals & metrics 

• Are the goals you set at the beginning of 2020 still meaningful to you and/or your business? 
• Are the goals you set at the beginning of 2020 still achievable this year (in the next 90 DAYS)? 
• Do your goals still align with your personal/business vision and your values? 
• Are your metrics and targets at the right level? 
• Do your metrics highlight progress towards your goals and also highlight obstacles to progress?
• Have you enjoyed the progress made or has it been an uphill struggle? 
• Have you over stretched or under stretched yourself?
• Have you been overwhelmed or underwhelmed with your life/work during Q3?

My 2020 goals changed dramatically in March due to the Covid-19 pandemic as I’m sure all of yours did. I was due to travel to Japan in May to join Katie Anderson and other Lean enthusiasts on Katie’s Lean Study Trip. This was disappointing but health and safety are the most important things and so Japan will be go into my future plans. There is always a silver lining and the time/money I saved from the trip to Japan was put to good use, see below.  

2. Evaluate what worked in terms of your goals, how were you successful?

• What worked well for you in the past 3 months?
• What did you do that supported this success?
• What goals/targets did you reach?
• What brought you joy and happiness?

In Q3 I launched my e-book ‘The A-Z of Effective Change’ which I am so happy with. You can download your free copy here or at the end of this post.

I also used the time at home to learn more, I signed up to my first online course – Natalie Sisson’s ‘Launch Your Damn Course Accelerator’. I loved this course so much that I am taking it for a second time and loving every minute of it! 

Q3 saw restrictions in Ireland reducing which has been great. We are still very much monitoring Covid 19 case numbers and being very careful but it has been so amazing to be able to see family and friends again in and spend precious time with them. I spent 2 weeks on a working staycation at my parents house which was the most precious time and the best holiday/staycation of my entire life. I had loads of time with my parents and my family, these times are the true joys in life. In Q3, my family and I celebrated birthdays, a communion and a confirmation together, the simple joys.

In Q3 I also spent days on beaches with my friends and went for lunches/days out with my Mom, niece and aunt. I met some of my work mates after not seeing them for months! 

I have always been grateful for the people I love in my life but the Covid 19 pandemic and time away from them has made that gratitude even more deeply felt.

May we never lose sight of all the the true blessings we have in our lives. 

I hope, wherever you are that you are getting to spend precious time with those you love.  

3. Evaluate what didn’t work in terms of your goals, what got in the way of success?

• What didn’t work for you in the past 3 months?
• What obstacles got in the way of your goals in the past 3 months?
• How did you deal with and overcome these obstacles?
• What didn’t bring you joy and happiness?

I find some areas of my strategy are successful and some aren’t. 

Things I really like doing always seem to get done and I continue to struggle with things I know I need to do but maybe can find excuses/reasons/ways to not do them! 

I am very susceptible to taking on too much, having too much on my plate and then getting overwhelmed. Because of this I review my personal strategy every day to ensure I am focusing on the tasks and activities that move me towards my vision and goals. 

There are areas of my strategy that need much improvement, looking forward to this in Q4.

4. Make informed decisions about what your key focus areas for the next quarter

• What are your 1st priority goals for the next 3 months?
• Are there goals that no longer serve you that you can remove from your strategy?
• What will you do to continue progress in successful areas of your life/business
• What will you do to learn from unsuccessful areas of your life/business?
• What metrics will you change?

There are just 90 DAYS left in this year! 

What action will you take for the next 3 months? 

My key focus areas for Q4 are to spend as much time as possible with loved ones and hope we, as a planet, get some sort of control over Covid 19. 

Another key focus is to launch my first online course. I have been working on this since June and the thoughts of the launch fills me with equal amounts of anxiety and excitement!

I will be sharing information on the course with you very soon. If you want to be the first to hear about my course sign up to my mailing list by downloading my free ebook at the end of this blog post. 

5. Document your goals, metrics and strategy reviews somewhere

It’s really important to capture progress of your goals somewhere. Whether you prefer physically putting pen to paper or to use something electronic there are so many options. The science behind why writing things down to enable success is outlined in Henriette Anne Klauser’s amazing book, ‘Write It Down, Make It Happen’.

Basically the message is what get’s written down gets done! 

My tools of choice are both physical and electronic,

Physical – I love Moleskine journals for writing & tracking progress of goals. Moleskine journals are colourful, hard wearing, long lasting journals of the highest quality. They can be a little pricey but for me they are worth it! I also use regular notebooks that you can get in any book shop/supermarket for note taking and ideas. It doesn’t really matter what you use from once you write your goals down and track progress daily, weekly, monthly and quarterly that will, at the end of the year, result in you smashing your goals and creating your Annual Review.

Electronic – My tools of choice online are 

 1. Google Docs (similar to Microsoft Word)  – super easy to use & free and accessible on all devices 

 2. Google Sheets (similar to Microsoft Excel) – super easy to use & free and accessible on all devices 

 3. Asana (excellent online Project Management tool) – super easy to use. You can upgrade to a free version but I have been using the free version for many years and it suit my needs. Natalie Sisson who introduced me to Asana has created an excellent comprehensive guide on ‘How To Use Asana’

These 3 tools are all free, easy to use and are all you need to set and track business or personal goals/metrics/projects/strategy. 

6. Learn more about personal & business strategy 

There is always another level of strategy to move into and there is always so much to learn.

• One of my favourite thought leaders in the area of personal strategy and development is Brendon Burchard. There is no end to the amount of resources Brendon has online. If you want to learn more about personal strategy and personal development, I highly recommend signing up to Brendon’s mailing list. Below are some excellent videos from Brendon on goal setting for success. Other influencers I follow in this area are my friend and mentor Natalie Sisson and Marie Forleo, Robin Sharma & Michael Hyatt.  

New Year Goals for Winning in Life in 2020

Power of Monthly Goals (How to Schedule Your Year)

• If you are looking for a book on Lean business strategy, I highly recommend ‘Getting The Right Things Done’ by Pascal Dennis and any other books by Pascal Dennis. Getting The Right Things Done is an incredible book that can be visited again and again as you move deeper and deeper into the world of business strategy and success.

I wish you success, health and happiness as you look back at Q3 and even more success, health and happiness as you look forward to the last 90 DAYS in 2020, let’s make these 90 DAYS the best 90 DAYS ever! 

Sign up for my free ebook below if you want to read about how to bring more positive change into your life and want to be the first to hear about my very first online course that I am launching very soon!

Thanks for reading,

Siobhain

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