Usually, people make New Years resolutions, give up on them by February, and then never reassess them. Whatever the original destination you set at the beginning of the year, by the time summer rolls around, you’ve probably completely forgotten the coordinates you programmed into your internal GPS six whole months ago…

”We’re just out for a cruise, maaannnn…we don’t need no destination!”

Which can be fun. For a while. But eventually, that nagging feeling that you’ve done nothing with your life is probably going to come back.

Even during the course of a normal year, things are going to happen that are going to throw you off course. But 2020 is a special case that definitely requires a midyear jumpstart, because there’s nothing like a global pandemic and riots to change your priorities, wreck any plans you might have had, and make you wonder why you’re even bothering to set goals anyway. (*Click here to find out why it’s still important to have goals right now)

On June 30th, a group of people held a virtual “Re-Set 2020” party. In the spirit of this party, let’s restart 2020 with a goals and habits check-in, to see if you’re still on route, or if you’ve gotten a bit off track and need to course correct.

Answer these questions for yourself:

What were my goals at the beginning of the year?
If you don’t have them written down from before, write them down now. Did you know you are 42% more likely to achieve your goals if you just put them on paper?
Are these still my priority, or have my goals changed?
Are any of these goals unachievable in current conditions?
Not just difficult…ACTUALLY unachievable. For example, coming up with $5000 to purchase equipment may be difficult, but isn’t impossible. Traveling to most foreign countries right now on the other hand IS impossible.
Are my current habits supporting or impeding my progress toward my goals?
What steps do I need to take to achieve my current goals?
Can I enlist support from anyone in my life in any of my goals?
i.e. Will my spouse get up and exercise with me in the morning? Can I get my children to give me one hour in the morning to write while they watch TV? Can I plan to have a regular phone chat with a friend every Sunday while we meal prep for the week?

The habits are just as important as the goal. The destination means nothing if you don’t have a map and the means to get there.

Assess how you’re doing in all of these areas, and identify places where you feel like you’ve gotten off course or would like to do more, and then make a specific plan of how you would like to do that. (If you aren’t sure how to get specific, see my previous article for help.)

Building new habits and breaking bad ones is difficult, but it can also change your life. LITERALLY.

If you need assistance in this area, I highly recommend the book Atomic Habits. It’s a pretty quick read, and has lots of great advice about strategies for creating the habits…and thus life…that you want.

I’m including my own personal mid-year check in below. Please use it to feel inspired to act, but don’t let it lead you down the wrong path of action. Your habits and your smaller goals should suit YOUR larger goals…not anyone else’s.

Despite everything this year continues to throw at us, I hope you are staying safe, healthy, and finding the opportunities that are out there. They are there. You just have to look.

If you need a sounding board for your goals or help to make them more specific, please click here to drop me a line. I’d be happy to arrange a free 15 minute consultation to help give you clarity on your goals for the rest of this year.

Need a longer session to help get back on the road? I am taking a limited number of one-on-one coaching clients. Email for pricing and details. I’d love to help!

My Mid-Year Check-in:

I have fifteen total goals on my list, and I’ve achieved three of them, one by default. So, I haven’t checked off that many, but I like to set my goals high. Aim for the moon, and all that.

Some of them, 2020 has pretty much made impossible (“Go to Italy” will have to wait until we stop spreading the plague and the EU allows us in again).

Goals I’ve achieved:

Get an agent in NYC or LA (I am now repped by AB2 in LA!)
Stop waiting tables to focus on acting full time (perhaps not the way I wanted to stop waiting tables, but God works in mysterious ways)
Make another voiceover demo (I now have an e-Learning demo and my automotive demo is being edited at this very moment!)

Goals I’d still like to complete before the end of the year:

Finish rewriting my two short screenplays
(I have signed up for a screenwriting class)
Finish first drafts of both of my children’s book ideas
Finish a draft of my book about the restaurant industry
Attend another voiceover conference besides VO Atlanta
(I will attend the OneVoice Conference in August)
Achieve my yearly income goal and get two regular monthly clients at $X
(I’ll just keep the numbers to myself)
Be the voice of one of my favorite brands
(I’ll also keep that name to myself)
Be healthy and fit
(This is a terrible goal, because it is unspecific…I will rewrite this goal as: I will lose the 5lbs of quarantine weight I put on and maintain at my pre-quarantine weight by doing at least ten minutes of yoga daily, swimming at least ten laps no less than four times a week, and I will eat at least two vegetarian meals a day by meal prepping in advance so I have healthy options available).

Health:

In the first few months of the quarantine, I can’t say my habits were all that great.

I stayed up too late
I ate a lot of comfort food
I didn’t get enough exercise

In the past month, I have changed my health habits greatly.

I am swimming regularly (when I get to 200 laps of my pool, I get to buy myself a new swimsuit!)
I have been eating two vegetarian meals a day, eating tons of veggies, all homemade, and very little processed food
I have developed better sleep habits. A hot bath before bed has been setting me up to fall asleep as soon as my head hits the pillow. It’s like magic.

I’d also like to get back to doing yoga ten minutes a day at minimum, by habit stacking it with either my morning routine, or my bedtime routine

Family/Friends/Relationships:

The only two people I see in person are my boyfriend and my roommate, so I make a concerted effort to reach out to friends regularly. It’s been really great to talk to friends who I haven’t seen in a long time, have game nights with random assortments of people, and play games like Jackbox, Cards Against Humanity, or online escape rooms. I’ve also been purposefully trying to make new friends during the past few months, because I’m still very new to Georgia, and when quarantine is over, I don’t want it to feel like I’m still brand new in town.

I want to make keeping in touch with my family a bigger priority, because I miss them.

Home Environment:

Since I’m home all the time now, I’m really good about keeping things in order. Laundry is always done and put away, the kitchen gets cleaned up and dishes done every morning, the floors get swept when I’m on the phone and my room gets vacuumed once a week. I’ve been working on making the outdoor space more hospitable. My new Adirondack chairs are a vast improvement, and I have also bought a bunch of plants, a hummingbird feeder, and some string lights.

I’d like to work on organizing my paper clutter better so it doesn’t get out of hand, get rid of some clothes that are worn out, and organize my bathroom cupboards to clear out things I don’t use.

Work:

Since I have lots of time, I’ve been working on development for my voiceover career. Here’s what I’ve been doing:

Voiceover Learning

Weekly pro workouts at Atlanta Voiceover Studio,
Voiceover Weekly Workout,
VO Dojo Fight Club,
A few of Lisa Biggs webinars
Various other voiceover webinars

Networking

Meeting fellow voice actors during voiceover webinars
Co-hosting the MN WoVO (World Voices Organization) meetup once a month
WoVO lounge on Sunday nights
Weekly networking event with people from back home in Minnesota every Friday
Actively reaching out to people I met in past years to see what they’re up to. It feels great to be part of such a great network of people all ready and willing to help each other.

Building My Portfolio

Got new headshots
New commercial voiceover demo (thanks to Jordan Reynolds!)
New e-Learning voiceover demo
New automotive voiceover demo will be done soon (Cliff Zellman is THE go-to guy for automotive!)

Adding New Tools

I finally set up VoiceZam on my website.
I started using my CRM more regularly (shout out to Brad Newman at UpperLevel CRM)
I’ve been using LinkedIn a whole lot more regularly

Hobbies:

Reading: I have read 24 books this year, and am partly finished with about three others. It’s a pretty good mix of self development type books and fiction. I do mostly audiobooks these days because I get antsy just sitting and reading, so I clean my house or cook while listening to my books every day. (If you’re curious what I’m reading, feel free to follow me on Goodreads!)
Ukulele: I bought myself a ukulele at the beginning of the lockdown, and have a goal to learn 50 songs by the end of the year. I think I’m at about 10 right now.
Languages: I’ve been VERY busy with Duolingo. I have been working on becoming more proficient with Italian as well as practicing my rusty Spanish.

Giving/Helping Others:

Coaching: I’ve been coaching two accountability groups for the past four months, to help others keep making steady progress toward their goals. Keeping in regular contact with a group of people has been beneficial to my own progress, mindset, and mental health.
“Feed the Ducks:” I signed up to talk to an isolated senior once a week, and she and I have bonded as well.

Spiritual LIfe:

This is less important to me than some people generally, but I feel better when I am in harmony with nature and when I pay attention to my dreams and what my subconscious is telling me through them. I have signed up for a dream workshop with my favorite author on the subject, and I would like to spend more time outdoors, taking walks in my neighborhood.

Political Life/Activism:

I have donated money to many organizations and political campaigns since George Floyd’s death. I voted. I have made phone calls and sent emails demanding justice, but I want to do more.

I will volunteer for political campaigns leading up to election day.
I will sign up to lobby for more pandemic assistance.
I will read Antiracist and White Fragility to see how I can do better in being an ally to communities that need to be heard right now.
I will pick a few ways I can start creating less waste, specifically less plastic waste.
I will continue to give money to causes that I believe in whenever I am able.

Hope this helps you in some way!

Recent Posts:

The Secret to Getting Your Goals Back on Track...Without Waiting Until the New Year