My Mid-Year Reflection: A Personal Check-In

The middle of the year is a moment for me to check in on how I am doing personally. Am I exhausted or energised? Have I rested enough? If an emergency happened, would I have enough energy to handle it, or would it overwhelm me?

This pause forces me to consider what I need to thrive and create for the rest of the year. This question goes much deeper than "What do I need to keep going?" That's just a version of "How can I survive the next six months?" I'm not interested in merely surviving—I want to give my best in the places that matter the most to me. Equally, this isn't about what others think I need to do to thrive, but where God is leading me and what I believe I need to do to thrive and create.

My first question considers the past: “Over the last six months, have I been working at my capacity or my limit?" If you haven't heard this distinction before, capacity centres on how much I can do and keep going, while limit is when I've been stretched past my capacity. All of us can operate at our limit for a little while. But do it for too long, and we will collapse.

The easiest way for me to think about it is this: "If my wife got sick tomorrow, would my response be that I have enough energy to love and support her, or would I freak out and yell, 'Not one more thing!'" What I know from experience is that honesty is best here—no bravado. Can I keep going, do I need to slow down, or am I on the edge of collapse?

My second question focuses on right now: "How am I managing my energy?" While I do care about time management, my focus in recent years has shifted to energy management. Even when I feel like I'm working within my capacity, I ask myself if I am managing my projects in a way that leaves me energy for when I need it. Are there times when I want to charge ahead but notice my energy level is too low to take the opportunity? I want to ensure I have energy for all the things that really matter.

My last question turns to future planning: “What do I want to accomplish in the next six months?”

Big rocks first, as Stephen Covey describes it. What are the major projects I want to tackle in the next six months? Is one of them a holiday? What work projects and personal projects are on the horizon?

My response to those questions is to ask myself, do I need a season of low or high intensity? This idea comes from Cal Newport. His argument is that every calendar year should include seasons of high intensity, where we might work past our capacity for a while because of an important project, AND seasons of low intensity, where we're working but deliberately lower than our capacity. 

So, what do I need in the next six months? What will best set me up for these projects? When is the best time to tackle them? This is a new question for me. The previous version of me always said, "I have time for ALL of it." The new version asks: When do you have the time and energy? Do you need a low season to reset so you can set yourself up to give your best? 

Now I turn to my calendar, armed with what I need to thrive. I know my capacity, my energy levels, and the seasons ahead. Now the question becomes: How can I manage the next six months so that I can thrive and create in the places that matter the most to me?