At the time of writing this, we are in March 2022 and I can’t believe that the first quarter of this year is almost over already. Time honestly has just flown by and I don’t know about you, but I did not take as much action towards my goals as I wanted to. Think about it, setting goals without checking in on them is like hiking without making sure you’re actually on the trail! This is why it’s important to check in on your goals.

So whether you’re reading this in March, June, September, or even December – I’m going to give you my top tips to check in on your goals so that you can actually start making progress and know what’s working versus what’s not working. Let’s dive in!

Why is it important to set and check goals?

I’ve spoken about the importance of setting goals that align with your values, but let’s recap on why it’s important to set goals in general.

Setting goals…

• Gives you long term vision
• Helps you measure your progress
• Helps you align your focus

But you shouldn’t just stop there – setting goals means nothing if you don’t have a plan and check in with your goals on a regular basis.

Checking in on your goals is important so that you can evaluate what’s working and what isn’t, measure your progress, and make adaptions as necessary. I used to set extremely ambitious goals, which was great, but also unrealistic the majority of the time. I wouldn’t check in on my goal which caused me to overlook how much work I still needed to do. 

When you reassess your goals regularly, you’re able to make adjustments sooner rather than later. This is the biggest reason it’s important to check in on your goals, my friend!!

How often should you check in on your goals?

Honestly, how often you check in on your goals is a personal decision; but realistically, if you wait too long then you’ll miss out on the opportunity to make adjustments. It also depends on the type of goal that you’ve set for yourself.

Obviously, if your goal for the day was to walk 10,000 steps, then you should check that at the end of the day to see how you did. You could even check it halfway through the day to see if you’re on track or need to increase your activity to catch up on steps!

But you could also check in on your goals on a weekly, monthly, or quarterly basis. Like I mentioned before, this will be dependent on you, your routines, and just how you operate in general! 

I will say that a weekly check in would give you an opportunity to make changes before too much time has gone by! It’s also a great way to remind yourself of your goal on a more consistent basis so that you’re reminded of what you’re working towards.

How do you check in on your goals?

Alrighty! Now that you know the basics, let’s dive on into my suggested tips on checking in with your goals.

Reflect & take note of what things are working (and not)

I suggest looking at the goals and habits you set for yourself to reflect on what you did well and what you could improve on. Here are some questions to get your brain juices flowing!

• How do you feel the month went overall?
• What habits were you consistent with this month?
• What things could you have done better or more consistently?
• What things distracted you from being consistent?
• What helped you be consistent?

And now that you know what is and isn’t working for you, you can make the necessary adjustments for the following week/month/quarter!

Celebrate your wins (big and small)

Now that you know what you’ve done well, celebrate those wins!! It’s important to celebrate your accomplishments no matter how big or small you feel they were. 

When we don’t celebrate the small victories, we create an internal culture that only big accomplishments are worth celebrating when that isn’t the case. So take this as your permission slip to celebrate your wins, okay?

Related: The Power of Small Wins

Review your goals 

You may find that some goals need some tweaks based on your reflection from earlier. Maybe you set an unrealistic goal, or maybe the goal you set on January 1st no longer resonates with your vision.  That is OKAY! More than okay, actually!

It’s better that you discard goals that don’t make sense for yourself, than to hold onto the goal and feel guilty for not making progress.

Schedule the next time you’re checking in with your goals

Whether you use a physical or digital planner, it’s important to literally write down the next time you’ll sit down and take the time to check in with your goals again. This will help you create a habit and maintain that consistency!