June had been quiet, and for the first time in years, I wasn’t sure I wanted to do my mid-year review. Most years, my mid-year check-in gives me clarity. This year, it gave me something else.
I’ve written previously about how I typically do them, and have been doing so for years. These past six months have been mostly joyous although I’ve had some ups and downs. The word uncertainty comes up often in the conversations I’ve been having with others, and I’ve also been working through it myself. I guess that makes me human, and why I can relate to so much of other people’s challenges.
Usually I look forward to this mid-year check in process. I know I’ll walk away with some insights, ahas and a better way to plan my next six months, based on what I’ve learnt so far.
But this year, I realized that because things had slowed down at the start of June and with uncertainty looming around me, my recency bias was clouding my reflection and planning process.
Most of my projects wrapped up in May, and June’s plans didn’t quite stick. I knew, even if I didn’t want to admit it, I was behind on some of my 2025 goals. Which means, I’ll have to adjust them. But once I got over the procrastination, and started to review — I was delighted in acknowledging how much I had also accomplished.
We often tend to focus on the things we are falling behind on that we forget to celebrate our wins and successes. My definition of a win has now been updated to include any experiment I decided to take on, regardless of the result. It wasn’t always the case. Its this reframe that has helped me take on new risks. If you don’t try it, how do you know it will work or not.
This year instead of the usual categories, I am simplifying it with just 3 reflective questions for my mid-year check in.
What are my achievements thus far?
What is working well?
What was challenging or off, and what do I want to change?
Until I didn’t look for accomplishments in the past 6 months, I didn’t feel I had done much. But when I did, I realized I had a full calendar of events, workshops, calls, work travel, classes and experiments.
I was surprised at how many things I was doing, and also enjoying most of them. In addition to that I signed up for two in-person courses and spent time experimenting with AI. This process of signaling my brain to look for successes has been pleasantly rewarding.
One of the insights that surprised me was how much I was enjoying the summer slowdown. When you’ve been trained to be on the go for years, it can be a hard thing to just be present, and be ok with moments of nothingness. Last summer, I had overscheduled myself with multiple conferences and was a hamster on a wheel. So I missed out on this experience.
This year, other than a trip to Yosemite, there wasn’t much planned. I read fiction books (nothing on self-development or growing your business), watched movies and didn’t feel guilty about binge watching Netflix shows. And then I thought to myself this week, so this is what I was missing out on all these years.
In my previous all consuming roles, I would rarely plan my time off in summer. It was an occasional day or two, to make it a long weekend or sometimes a week at the max. I wanted to save my vacation days to travel more during the holiday season in December.
This summer slowdown reminded me of my childhood summer vacations while growing up in Kaduna (a small town in Nigeria), buried in books or playing with friends. There wasn’t much to do around there. But I have to admit, there is something magical in enjoying the long warm days and cool breeze on clear nights.
As I started writing this post, I realized that almost as if on cue, my calendar for July and August started filling up again. I’m back to working on some passion projects which I will share about in another post, and spending more time with clients. Which makes me grateful for a slow summer, that allowed me to be more present and open to different possibilities.
Before the week gets over, and you’re onto the next activity - take time to reflect on the three questions for yourself for a mid-year check in.
Are you still feeling good about the path you’re on till Dec 2025? Have you taken some risks? Have you experimented with things you are curious about? What have you learnt and what are you changing?
And most importantly, I hope you are enjoying your summer.
Sometimes a slowdown is just the space you need to reconnect with yourself, and make room for magic.
“Almost everything will work again if you unplug it for a few minutes… including you.” - Anne Lamott
Hi, I’m Dipti, a leadership coach for ambitious professionals navigating growth and change. Each week, I share practical insights and personal stories on leadership, career strategy, and intentional living.
P.S. hit reply and share a book you’ve read this summer, that you highly recommend. I love collecting recommendations
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