We celebrated the Summer Solstice on June 21st. The end of June marks the halfway point of the year and at such times of transition, it can be useful to pause, reflect, and consider where you’ve been, where you are and where you plan to go.
By now, you may have kept some of your New Year’s resolutions, while others may have fallen by the wayside or diminished in importance. This is an excellent time to reflect on your progress so far and to make a few simple “six-month resolutions”, re-focus and re-set intentions. Here are a few broad and useful ones that are easy to keep.
Tie Up Loose Ends
What simple tasks have you been putting off? If tasks, expectations, or obligations have been hanging around on your to-do list for months, you can use a simple system such as GTD to knock out the small but important ones today.
If there are larger concerns weighing you down, consider if they’re worth your time and energy. Prioritize tasks and considerations that relate to the larger themes of the career and the life you want.
If you plan to take time off over the summer, now is the time to prepare and make sure everything is in place, so you can more fully relax and recharge during the hot and slow season.
Nurture Your Relationships
Take the time to reach out to important people in your professional life with whom you want to maintain your ties. This can be as simple as sending a quick check-in note or checking their LinkedIn pages to see what they’re up to.
Relationships require attention, and it is always wise to offer more attention than you expect to receive. If you keep your connections strong over time, you will find it easier to ask for help when you need it. And, if you are there for others when they need help, it can work wonders for your career and overall sense of well-being.
Follow the Green Lights
It is important to reflect on the challenges you’ve faced this year and explore opportunities for improvement. It is equally (if not more) important to acknowledge what went well, how you’ve improved, and what new opportunities you’ve created for yourself.
What new skills have you built up in the last six months? What have you accomplished that you would not have expected to have completed six months ago? What new options have you created now because of your growth and hard work?
When you take stock of your accomplishments, you realize you can do a lot in a small slice of time. Now, you are primed to do even bigger things with the back half of your year!
If you didn’t create a http://www.artisancreative.com/artisan-blog/creating-your-2018-vision-board vision board in the beginning of the year, you can create one now for the remainder of 2018. Every day is a new opportunity to set our goals in motion. As Emily Dickenson says “Dwell in Possibilites”. The year isn’t half-way over, instead, we have 6 months to start new initiatives.
At Artisan Creative, we embrace a growth mindset and we are thrilled to help you make the most of your hard work so far, and figure out where you want to go next. Contact us today to learn more.
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