How to Create a Personal Roadmap — to get from where you are to where you want to be
“New year, new me” we like to say, yet whether we think about it or not, each new year doesn’t come with personal growth as a definite guarantee.
I would know.
One year, the time flew by without me remembering much; another year, I finished 12 side projects in 12 months. Last year, my friends had to carry my springy mattress when we moved. This year, I can effortlessly do twenty pushups.
What was the difference between the former and the latter year?
I changed one thing. I started checking in on my goals every month instead of waiting until the last day of the year.
Just imagine this for a second — having a 1:1 with yourself each month. The likelihood of forgotten to-dos and unfinished projects significantly diminishes. Within 30 days, you’ll find out what additional steps you need to take to become the person you want to be, versus waiting a whole year. Think about how much faster you can progress and how much more time is saved from having closer feedback loops.
“How we spend our days is how we spend our lives” — Annie Dillard
With yearly reviews, we tend to only remember how we spent the beginning and end, with the middle somewhat hazy (thanks memory). Alarmingly, the middle is also the most important: it’s the path you took to get from point A to point B. So which parts did you do well? Which parts could you stop doing and try something else?
Without a timely check-ins, it’s hard to tell. And unlike fitness before and after photos, there’s no snapshot of our lives that we can refer back to. This is where personal monthly reviews comes in.
There’s only three steps you need to take to start your own monthly reviews:
1. Set a time to review on your calendar
If it doesn’t get written down, it doesn’t get done.
I like to start my monthly reviews a couple of days before the end of the month, so I can get into the reflection mode and wrap up that month with a finished post.
I’ve found that scheduling the review at a non-busy work night or a Sunday afternoon works really well. Choose a day that’s usually free from commitments so you can spend some quality time with yourself.
Another perk from planning ahead is that you can create the the perfect enjoyable space for yourself, whether it’s to play soothing music in the background, or grabbing your favorite tea to sip on as you reflect.
2. Collect experiences along the way
You don’t have to start from scratch.
Make it easier for your future self by jotting down snippets of things you want to remember for your monthly review as they happen. This way, when the time comes, you’ll spend most of the time summarizing and editing rather than writing from a blank sheet.
The difference it can make? 30 minutes to an hour of relaxing work versus a couple hours of brain-racking work. The compounding effect is real.
If you’d like to accelerate your personal growth, here’s a template you can use for your monthly reviews:
- Where are you with goals for the previous month? (Objective level)
- How did you go about accomplishing your goals? (Process level)
- What was your motivation for your choices? (Meta level)
- What do you want to complete in a month? (Goals for the next month)
- Inspirational articles, books read, poignant memories, etc. (Fun section)
Keep a running list of updates in a doc and bookmark it for easy access.
3. Iterate as needed
This is a living, breathing document, not one set in stone.
You are the designer of your life, so if your roadmap or goals change, your monthly reviews will naturally reflect that. Perhaps something becomes increasingly important to you so you add a new section in (for me, it was memories I wanted to remember). Or perhaps you want to stop keep track of certain sections. Or maybe you found a new format you want to try out. That’s great too!
What matters is the process and staying consistent, regardless of what shape or form your monthly reviews might take.
So who do you want to be when next year rolls around? And more importantly, what steps might you take now to get closer to that?
Here is a template you can use to start your own personal monthly reviews☺
See you in a month!
