How to do a mid-year goals reset

I’m officially back from maternity leave and had a different blog post planned for this week. But I scrapped those plans because with my first few coaching calls back after leave, I realized I need to talk about this instead: Why you’re not achieving goals.

Obviously, my clients had a break from seeing me on Zoom while I had my second baby and got through the early postpartum days. And while they’re amazing and made a lot of progress during our pause, we’ve returned to similar challenges that are holding them back. If these things are holding my clients back—capable, talented, and successful individuals—they’re probably keeping others stuck too. And we’re now at that time of year where a slump can sneak up before the summer fun kicks off. So let’s talk about these roadblocks, so you can gain some self awareness and maybe avoid or overcome them.

I also want to preface with the reminder that I’m not immune to any of these points I’m about to share. I’m right there with you for a lot of them. More on that later though…

Watch on YouTube: Why you’re NOT achieving goals

Prefer to watch and listen versus read? This week’s YouTube video is for you…

Design a business that aligns with your life

Before we get into the roadblocks, let’s remember why you’re trying to design a business that aligns with your life in the first place. For me, it’s about freedom and flexibility. Being able to choose what I want to do each day (within reason of responsibilities). Getting to show up as both mom and business owner. I get to do this work and live my life.

Often, clients come to me not even sure about what work-life integration could look like for them. They know they want to work less, but they don’t know how that would play out. So as a bit of inspiration for you, here’s a snapshot of the things that I’ve done on workdays the last 2 years that AREN’T work. I give you so much business advice, but we both know that this is about more than money… And I want to show you what’s possible.

What’s possible for you?

During work hours, I’ve done all this…

• Hiked many mountains.
• Played in the sun on the beach.
• Flew multiple times.
• Visited more wineries than I can count.
• Rented a cottage on the water.
• Worked on my vegetable garden.
• Moved across the country.
• Family walks for hours.
• Gym, yoga, etc.
• Read. Journalled. Sat in stillness.
• Learned how to make good food from scratch.
• Coffee dates and Zoom catchups.
• Shopped for flowers.
• Birthed 2 babies.
• Hung out in the park and on patios.

Literally whatever I wanted to do, 99% of the time with my little dudes by my side. 🤍

And when I AM working, it’s with people and on projects I’m truly excited about, so it feels worth my time.​​

That’s 👆 why I built this business.

For freedom and flexibility. Long-term sustainability. What my days have looked like the last few years is proof that it’s 1000% possible to build a business that aligns with your life. And I want the same for you too.

The problem is that so many freelancers, personal brands, and online business owners get stuck in the weeds. There’s trends in the challenges that keep you playing safe in the messy middle of business building… But what if you could coach yourself to grow beyond those?

It all starts with self awareness. That’s why I assign journaling homework to my clients so often—you can’t overcome the head shit you aren’t aware of. But you also need to know that these roadblocks can even happen. So where do you start?

Obviously, with setting clear goals. Then with consistently checking in on the status of those goals, but also your personal wellbeing. Which is how we end up here, doing a mid-year goals reset.

Mid-year goals reset when you’re not achieving goals

I talked about my year-end business reset routine a few months ago, but I also like to do a check-in and reset around June every year to make sure things are still going in the direction I want. This reset is something you can do at any time of year really. It doesn’t need to be a monumental point or the clean break that comes with the end of the year, quarter, or a month. Any goals reset requires intentionality and honesty with yourself.

Are you truly working and living in alignment? If not, what has to change?

Roadblocks that leave you not achieving goals

All of us get stuck at times. From my experience of working with clients both in my marketing studio and through my mastermind, along with my personal experience, there’s trends in the roadblocks that are holding you back. There’s common themes that keep you stuck not achieving goals.

Here’s an overview of those. As you read through each, keep an open mind. Don’t beat yourself up if you find any relatable. Self-awareness is step 1 to growth.

You let fear lead

Whatever your fear is, we all have them. And these fears are often the self-inflicted reasons why you’re not achieving goals you set. You’re keeping yourself playing small by letting fear lead.

Maybe your fear is around being seen as your authentic self. Many of my clients struggle with this, therefore hold themselves back from showing up online. Or maybe it’s a fear of failure that manifests as perfectionism. You stress over every detail, and keep yourself playing small because you can’t take imperfect action.

Imposter syndrome tells you that you don’t belong. Or that you’ll be found out as a fraud not worth your rates.

A scarcity mindset leads to desperation, which is an energy you don’t want to put out into the world.

Or maybe you’re scared of being honest with yourself about what you really want. So instead of going after your true purpose, you squeeze yourself into a misaligned box.

Just [insert your fear here] because they’re really all the same at the end of the day.

You have unrealistic expectations

This is one I struggle with still. Especially now as I navigate life with 2 littles 2 and under. Every day, I make a to-do list for myself. And every day, I move over half of that list to the next day.

My life is a series of interruptions these days. Just this morning, I started doing dishes and was interrupted to get water for my oldest. I thought I’d start on biscuits that are going with dinner and needed to ferment on the counter through the day, but after adding 3 ingredients to the bowl my youngest started to cry. My oldest asked to play a specific song on our Google Home, but as I’m explaining to him that I don’t know which song he’s asking for, he interrupts me to ask again. Nap times are interrupted by tears. One baby is hungry, and the other wants a hug or a hand hold to resettle in his bed.

The washing machine just interrupted my train of thought while writing this. Another load of laundry is done. Where was I again?

So with this new reality, I need to be realistic about how much I can get done. Where does focused desk work actually fit into my day? I always ask my clients this question too because capacity planning and goal setting doesn’t work if you don’t actually make the time.

You need to make time for shit. Something’s gotta give. You can’t do everything at the same time.

If this sucks to hear, just know you’re not alone. I FEEL this right now. I’m forced to choose what my priorities are with 2 babies. And beyond just prioritizing, I find myself re-evaluating my entire life. Productivity hacks take on a whole new meaning: I need to work with the types of time I have available. For example, I may not get as much time at my desk, but my littles do allow me to cook and clean. So I start there. My oldest wants to participate. So I tackle these other responsibilities, but leave computer work until later knowing that when it’s my time to focus at my desk, there’s nothing else distracting me.

Considering your own situation, what can you reasonably expect for yourself right now?

You hang onto old habits

Just like we all have fears that hold us back, we all have the thing that we do—the old, nagging bad habit that we can’t seem to kick. Whether it’s perfectionism or people pleasing. Doom scrolling. Comparison. Staying up too late. Not taking care of yourself… Like I said, we all have that thing.

Maybe you have multiple things.

I know my bad habits stem from the times I don’t prioritize myself. I work late, skip the gym, and start to get into a negative rut. It’s a downward spiral from there. I don’t feel good about myself, so I compare more. I doom scroll Instagram more. It’s a slippery slope.

I see this in my clients too. Often the trend revolves around being honest about your needs, then working to fulfill those. You can’t show up as the best entrepreneur you can be if you don’t show up for yourself as a human being first.

How can you make small improvements starting today to overcome the bad habits that hold you back?

You jump around

Repeat after me: It’s crucial to choose a strategy and try to see it through. You don’t have to do shit you don’t want to or stick with something too long for the sake of sticking with it, but don’t jump around too often or you won’t see results.

Too often, I see clients and other entrepreneurs give up too soon. They think someone else is having more success going in a different direction, so they jump ship to try that out. When in reality, they’re already seeing results with their own strategy. Maybe those numbers aren’t coming in as fast as they’d like, but with a bit more patience, things will pay off.

Overall, you’re trying to do too many things at once, so everything gets watered down. Nothing really takes off. It all feels like a mess.

What could a bit of focus do for you and your business?

You hang on too long

At the same time as the above point, you need to know when to jump ship. That includes knowing when to let go of the team member, or when to try something new.

It also means knowing when to ask for help. Then letting yourself accept that help. There’s no award for being the most independent person to work with a coach or consultant. I’ve been in that position before of not wanting to ask my coach for support because I don’t want to be too much, but then I remember that’s literally what I’m paying them for. So ask the questions and accept their advice.

If you’re wondering if it’s time to move on… It probably was time a while ago.

How to reset when you’re not achieving goals

If you’ve found yourself stuck and not achieving goals you set at the beginning of the year, pause. Take a breath. Pull out a blank paper or word doc or Notion template. Go back to those original goals and ask yourself: Why?

Why am I not achieving goals right now?

The answer to this question might surprise you. Of course, there’s the above roadblocks we talked about. But it also might be that those goals need to change in order to keep moving forward. I recently wrote about how to recenter when dreams change here if this sounds relevant to your situation.

What’s possible? Start here.

If you’re ready to get out of your own damn way and spend a lot more time doing the things you love, but don’t actually know what’s possible for you, you might want to check out The 6-Figure Schedule. It gives you a look at my actual calendar, plus a ton of other valuable information like how I delegate and more.