Progress Reports to Assure Good Growth

CARING FOR YOURSELF:

Do you remember getting progress reports in school? It wasn’t quite the end of the grading period, there was still time to fix mistakes or missteps, and always showed room for improvement. When the new year rolls around and resolutions and intentions are set, we often start off with a bang. Then, a couple of weeks go by, routines reset, life gets busier than it was during the holiday break, and before we know it…. Wham! No more resolutions; No more intentions. That’s why I believe a good self check in is always a good idea. I like to do them mid-month. Like grade school, they are little progress reports to help assure good growth.

Habit trackers and making new tracks

Is that what resolutions are about, making new tracks? So often resolutions begin with two phrases: 1 Stop doing fill in the blank, or 2 Start doing fill in the blank. Both are ways of making new tracks for ourselves. We resolve to stop walking in tracks that are leading us off course, or we resolve to start taking new paths – making new tracks – that will lead us down better pathways.

I love a good habit tracker for this. I think habit trackers are honestly one of the best and easiest ways to give ourselves progress reports. In fact, I was just working with someone recently to help them develop their own habit trackers. One of the things they resolved to do was simple. It was important to them. They categorized it as a priority. Definitely we needed to add it to the habit tracker.

The issue was, it was truly such a simple thing they didn’t think they needed to add it. They would simply start doing it. That’s when I explained a personal example to them. There is something very simple I wanted to start doing this year. It was a form of self-care, and it wouldn’t take hardly any effort at all. I considered it an act of self love and it was a priority for me for the year. So I added it to my own habit tracker. My habit tracker has seven tasks on it. It isn’t overwhelming to do the things on it. But when I got to the end of the first week of January, I had marked of almost everything – but had only marked that specific thing off twice.

“Well, it is the first week of January… I won’t worry too much about it,” I told myself. Then the end of the second week of January came, and again, I had only marked that particular goal off once. Hmmm… Life check incoming.

This thing I wanted to do – I had resolved to do, this thing that was considered a priority for me, wasn’t getting done… So either I needed to pay more attention to it, schedule it, make it a habit, or it wasn’t truly a priority. That was when the situation shifted for me. It was a priority, and therefore I needed to treat it as such.

Well laid plans and the best intentions…

I believe in resolutions. I think they have the power to transform our lives – if we stick to them. Each year I create a list of things I want to improve about my life. Rather than tackling them all at once and risk failure, I break them down into smaller, manageable goals. That’s where new month resolutions come in.

At the end of each month I set down with myself and I consider a few things: What is my focus of the next month going to be, what goes on my monthly bucket list, and what are that month’s resolutions. January often looks very different than June or July. In fact, each month looks different from the next.

This January my focus was my health. I already admitted I gave up morning coffee and sugar. But in addition, I have committed to getting 10,000 steps a day at least five days per week. I resolved to drink more water, but not just more water, a specific amount of water. I resolved to not eat or snack after 6:00 p.m. I resolved to take a walk of 20 – 40 minutes per day. And I resolved to check my habit tracker every day. These are the progress reports I give myself that help assure good growth.

When the week goes sideways…

There are always weeks unplanned events occur. Days when our bodies simply need to recover. But the truth is, on most days we have to show up either way. We have to show up on the good days and on the bad ones.

In my planner, right next to my habit tracker I have written the following: “The choices I make today have the power to transform my tomorrow.” That is what I’ve found to be true. When I make the choice to show up even when it’s hard, even when I don’t feel like it, even when I don’t have the motivation… that’s when I see growth. When I make the choice to skip a workout, have that extra helping of mashed potatoes, or don’t drink enough water…that’s when I see regression. It’s when I feel fatigue, feel sluggish, and lack stamina. The choices I made today have the power to transform my tomorrow – for better or worse.

Progress Reports and Self-Check ins.

So let me encourage you. If you made resolutions or intentions this year, if you set goals for yourself, take a moment today to do a quick self check-in. Give yourself a progress report. See where you’re making progress. It will encourage and empower you. See where you need to make better choices.

Habit trackers can be simple, digital apps you download to your phone. I prefer a printable version. I’ll link a couple you can purchase from Etsy for a minimal price.

I promise you, when you begin to track the things you believe to be priorities for you, you will see where change needs to occur, and where you need to apply more focus.