Every new year brings a flurry of resolutions and plans for the next twelve months.  Considering how quickly things change, this seems a bit ambitious.  By the time we get into the middle of the year our plans have likely been altered a little at least.  Sometimes the goals have changed, even in substantial ways.  Therefore, this time of year is an excellent chance to assess your progress and do some strategic planning.

Six Months in Review

When you set annual goals as we do in our mentor classes, then you at least started the year with lofty aspirations.  Six months in, it is a good time to see how that is progressing.  You may be ahead of schedule and able to look at squeezing more in this year.  On the other hand, this may be a good time to start pushing third and fourth quarter goals into the next year.  This adjustment can help your stress levels, but also can be good to communicate with others and set expectations.

The Fourth of July often provides long weekends before or after where it is easy to cut out a few hours for this assessment.  This is probably going to look like your new year planning sessions where you review the prior year and create your plans.  You can even look twelve or more months out and get an early start on your New Year’s Resolutions.

Looking Ahead

Getting back on track is good.  However, this is also a perfect time to adjust your goals to finish the year aggressively.  You might be comfortable moving forward through your tasks but can kick it up a notch.  You do not want to get too aggressive, but a sure and steady pace can pay off in the long run.  In particular, this is an excellent time to find some small tasks to fit in amongst your larger ones in the latter half of the year.  These little tasks likely did not even exist when you did your annual planning.  They might fit in on your calendar amongst the more significant activities without taking away from those bigger ones.
The strategic planning can include getting started on a task and setting the wheels in motion.  It never hurts to get some momentum behind a task and start making progress.  This is a huge advantage when you need to reach out to vendors or place orders that take months to fulfill.  It also is a way to minimize issues that often arise when working a task at the last minute.

Time To Breath

This little pause we typically find at the beginning of July (or end of May or Beginning of September) is perfect for a bit of reflection.  Take advantage of the Holidays for some well-earned rest.  However, do not pass on these as opportunities to get in some reflection without distractions.  This is work you should do sooner or later, so why not do your strategic planning during a slow week?

Rob Broadhead

Rob is a founder of, and frequent contributor to, Develpreneur. This includes the Building Better Developers podcast. He is also a lifetime learner as a developer, designer, and manager of software solutions. Rob is the founder of RB Consulting and has managed to author a book about his family experiences and a few about becoming a better developer. In his free time, he stays busy raising five children (although they have grown into adults). When he has a chance to breathe, he is on the ice playing hockey to relax or working on his ballroom dance skills.

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