For the last 3 years I’ve been reviewing each month with a very simple formula- the highs, the lows and the key lessons. This has given me a solid platform for the bigger annual reflections (a topic I wrote about at the turn of the year).
Then, just last week I discovered a different monthly review process, courtesy of Peter Voogd from the YEL 2.0 podcast. It’s called the 7-figure monthly review. It has a more meaningful angle that I’m excited to inject into my own monthly reviews to make them more powerful, and in turn accelerate my results.
Firstly, the rationale behind this- Peter Voogd says that, “the best way to predict someone’s next 6 months is to look at their previous 6 months. Habits trump everything, mindset, decision, network. So if you had a mediocre last 6 months, the takeaway here is that the next 6 are likely to be the same unless you really get conscious about what you’re doing, you put new info in your head, and every single day you do things to get you closer to your goals.“ Is that hard to hear?
This post is taken directly from my recent podcast learnings – it’s about how to purposefully review the previous 30 days so you can set yourself up for a rock solid next 30, and so on.
Most people want to have a great year, they think they will but they don’t take the necessary daily steps to ensure that they will. It’s easy to plan, but executing when you really don’t feel like it is what separates the champions from the mediocre.
This process is about using your reflection as an awareness tool, on what’s worked for you in the past and what you can do differently/reinforce going forwards.
Reviewing each month is about investing past experience into future preparation and focus – ie your past decisions, successes, failures, lessons. That’s where the good stuff comes from.
Here are a selection of questions to help you reflect on the previous month so you can carry on with momentum. Use these prompt questions to help you reflect and free flow write for 30 mins each month about the precious 30 days.
Section #1 – OVERVIEW
- What went well, what didn’t?
- When was I in my zone, when wasn’t I?
- When was I at my emotional energy peak?
- What caused me peace of mind?
- What frustrated me?
- Did I do what I said I was going to do?
- What systems have I put in place?
Section #2 – PSYCHOLOGICAL
- What have been my biggest breakthroughs?
- What have been my biggest frustrations?
- What have been my mind-shifts?
- What have been my biggest disappointments?
Section #3 – TACTICS
This section looks at what were my top 5 wins from last month, financial, family, adventure…?
Getting down to business metrics ask yourself:
- Did I hit my business income goal last month?
- What were the top three marketing campaigns or sources of income last month?
- What were my top income producing activities?
- What are the biggest ways I’ll be producing income this next month?
- How did I add value to the marketplace, could I have added more? (In these property communities and we talk a lot about fair exchange of value, because that’s ultimately how we get paid.)
These will likely be related to your highest values but only you will know.
- Did I leverage technology?
- Did I maximise my reach?
- What will exponentially grow my reach this next month?
- What did I do to stay adventurous and feel fully alive?
To help keep you from the nitty gritty march of each day it’s important to mix it with the things that energise you. It might be something small ie for me it’s getting in a game of tennis once a week, or maybe you had planned a mini break with your loved one. For those with freedom in their highest values this will be particularly important. Can you mix your passion and profession and link up travel to fun destinations with your work?
If you aren’t consciously making a decision to put things in your diary that will keep you alive and vibrant, you will become complacent.
Section #4 – RELATIONSHIPS
I love this one:
- Who did I you connect with and reach out to last month?
- Did I take care of my current relationships and did I reach out to people who can cut my learning curve in half- i.e. people who I can partner with in some way that’s relevant to your business?
- Did I leverage partnerships?
Section #5 – TEAM
Think about questions that will help with your team review:
- How was my team engagement?
- How was my speed of communication?
- What feedback can I give them?
- What do they need in terms of skill development?
Section #6 – LEGACY
- What did I work on that was legacy focused? In other words something that you work on now but won’t get paid until long into the future, or something that you don’t reap the benefits for until way later, ie it creating things that you value but that you get paid 6 months or more down the road. Note that if you just do this kind of work for the rewards/benefits you will lose steam, it’s important to engage in legacy work for other reasons, for something bigger than you. Part of my family legacy work this year is taking conscious time with boys each each to teach them one key life value each month.
Voogd recommends spending 80% of your time on profit making activity, creating systems etc that makes sure you have the money coming in for you and your family now. Then 20% of your time on legacy focused things. Eventually when you have built the business you want you can switch focus to investing 80% of your time on the legacy side of things. Isn’t that an exciting prospect? To spend 80% of your time on something that helps a cause you believe in or adds value to the world in some way, and not worry whether it pays you or not.
Conclusion
I encourage you to take some time to make this as relevant as you can to you and your industry.
Following that, I challenge you to take 30 mins each month to invest in doing this. WHY? Because high achievers always ask better questions, and they are always investing their past mistakes into their future preparation.
Ask yourself the tough questions because the better the questions you ask, the better the answers, and the more clarity you will gain.
If you have any ideas you’d like to share of how you review your months then please post it here.
Have a great one