Prioritization, Planning, and Goal Setting: Take Time To Reflect

By Brenda L. Peterson, The Layoff Lady

My Year In Review

​For me, the past year has been very full. For the first six months, I was in career transition, a volunteer facilitator for The White Box Club, and writing my book Seven Lessons From Seven Layoffs: A Guide.

Then, I started a new job, and everything changed. I spent the next six months learning my new role, adjusting my finances back to my working person budget, and focused on finalizing and publishing my book.   

Priorities, Plans, and Goals

I have a love/hate relationship with setting personal goals. Instead, I feel like I have a general direction in life and continue to modify and hone that direction as needed. I may change where I focus when I stumble upon a new interest, when an opportunity unexpectedly presents itself, when a once murky path becomes clear, or when life hands me a beginning or end. Sometimes, it’s as easy as the start of a new week, year, or season to motivate me to reflect. 

Creating The New Normal

This time, I’m taking a step back to revisit goals a little differently. Just a few short months ago, I was acclimating to my new job, working on paying off a few bigger ticket items, adjusting to my new adult ADHD diagnosis, and making the bijilion little required decisions to get my book over the publishing finish line. Now, with many of those items crossed off of my life to-do list and coming off of an amazing visit from my daughter, it feels like the right time to reassess and consciously decide what to focus on next.

My Reflection Plan

Here is my plan for doing a bit of structured soul-searching as I contemplate my way forward:

• Start with values. I’ll retake the think2perform online values assessment. This gives me a chance to revisit my values and see what feels right for me in this place in time and space.

• Revisit strengths. I’ll review my CliftonStrengths report and see what resonates with me now.

• Consider the elements of well-being. I like Gallup’s five elements of well-being: Career, Social, Financial, Physical, and Community. I’ll consider my current state and where I’d like to be in each area.

• Review accomplishments. I’ll l take time to think about and appreciate what I have accomplished this year. I’ll also think about what I’d like to stop doing, start doing, and keep doing, and where I might want to focus going forward.

• Consider specific goals and prioritization. I’ll think about my desired outcomes, how I want to spend my time, and how possible areas of focus rank in comparison.

• Check in with others. After I think about what I want, I’ll also check in with my immediate family. Being aware of what is important to them right now will help us align our goals where needed and support one another.

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• Write it down. I’ll write down my top focus areas and specific goals on a whiteboard in my living room. Having it in a place where I will look at it regularly reminds me of my priorities. Interacting with what I’ve written will help me make progress or understand where I need to shift my focus. 

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What Do You Think?

What prompts you to revisit your priorities? What is your process for refection and goal setting? Share your thoughts in the comments. 

Learn More

• think2perform Free Online Values Assessment
• Book: StrengthsFinder 2.0 eBook (with CliftonStrengths assessment code)
• Book: The Five Elements of Wellbeing
• ​The Layoff Lady's Ultimate Guide To Answering The Question, "I Just Got Laid Off--Now What Do I Do?"​
• The Layoff Lady Book: Seven Lessons From Seven Layoffs: A Guide