How to conduct a personal quarterly review + My Q1 review & Q2 goals

One of the fastest ways for any individual to make positive change in their life is to set goals, and then work at achieving them.

For anyone who has been following me for a while, they know that I am a huge advocate of goal setting.  I even wrote a free eBook on the topic called The Focused Creator. 

When we set goals, we are taking our dreams and turning them into a realistic ambition.

The quarterly review

Every quarter, I do a quarterly review where I review my previous quarter and set goals for the upcoming quarter. 

Now I can't take credit for this all on my own. This strategy I actually learned from Todd Henry and Chris Guillebeau  who are both advocates of these types of reviews. 

Below you will see a list of my quarterly goals I set for Q1 with the actual outcomes for each of those goals. Then I also dive into detail about what went well, and what didn't. 

I encourage you to take this format and apply it to your own life and do your own Quarterly review. 

How to conduct a quarterly personal review

The format is simple, answer these 7 questions. Sit down with an open document or a notepad and write out your answers to these questions.

The act of doing it could change your life. 

  1. Review your last quarter goals

  2. What went well last quarter?

  3. What didn't go well last quarter?

  4. If I could do this quarter over again, what would I do better?

  5. What commitments do I have and are there any that I need to get rid of?

  6. What are my goals for the upcoming quarter?

  7. Where do I want to be when the quarter is over?

That is it. Those simple 7 questions will do so much to bring clarity and purpose to your life. Give it a shot and take a look at my review below. 

Q1 Review

  • Income Goal $25,00

    • Actual income : $27,626.49

  • Send 300 cold e-mails 

    • I sent about 150 before abandoning because other work acquisition strategies were working better

  • Launch 3 videos for personal creation

    • Totally failed at this

  • Launch Products

  • Health 

    • Exercised at minimum 3 times per week every week with one exception

    • Weigh under 200 by the end of March - Success

  • Social

    • Contact 5 people in your network per week - I did this spastically but not consistently 

    • Host parties - We have our first partied scheduled for next week

    • Go to one live networking event per week - I did this for a while and got sick of it

  • Go skiing

    • We went cross country skiing twice

  • Create 3 art pieces

    • This is a big fail point for me this quarter - I only completed one

  • Learning

    • Join and participate in Toastmasters - Actively involved

    • Lightroom - Learned Adobe Lightroom

    • Cook 2 meals per week - Failed at this

  • Speak at 3 live events

    • Complete failure 

What went well in Quarter 1?

  • I proposed to Elisabeth and we are engaged!

  • My income grew to it's highest point yet despite a rough start to the year. 

  • I changed my model from project based to recurring. 

  • I launched three products and profited from those products as well. 

  • I exercised consistently. 

  • I was semi social and made some new friends. 

  • I did Toastmasters semi-reguarlly. 

  • I invested money into a Roth IRA.

  • I read a lot of books and learned / improved several new skills. 

What didn't go well in Quarter 1?

  • I failed at creating art. I only did one drawing in three months which is pretty weak.

  • I failed at doing the artistic videos that I wanted to do. 

  • I failed at doing any public speaking outside of Toastmasters. 

  • I worked way too many hours, far more than I would have liked to.

If I could do this quarter over again, what would I do better?

  • Give myself the dedicated space and time to make art. 

  • Take on slightly fewer clients and don't charge low when I get a scarcity mindset. I charged a low budget on one project because I wasn't busy at the start of the quarter and that client is still haunting me today. 

  • Book some public speaking events. 

What commitments do I have and are there any that I need to get rid of?

  • Preparing for an upcoming wedding

  • Gun.io

  • Mapleton Drive

  • Flowhub

  • Website Design projects for Brittany E.

  • Guest Blogging and Promotion of my personal brand

  • Learning stand up comedy

  • Toastmasters

  • Art

Q2 Goals & Planning

I always start with reviewing my last quarter and then move into my goals and plans for the upcoming quarter. Below you will see my goals and vision for how I want my Quarter 2 of 2015 to look. 

  • Income goal $30k

  • Art - 3 shipped art pieces (videos, photography or drawing)

  • Health - Exercise 3 times per week & weigh 195 by end of June

  • Speaking - Book & film two events - Nashville event + One more

  • Gun.io

    • Generate monthly ROI of $20k minimum

    • Grow retainer to $5k per month

    • Step out of Top Shelf sales role

    • Have an article featured on Inc, Forbes, Entrepreneur, Etc

  • Mapleton Drive

    • Launch Wholesale store

    • Generate ROI of $100k through Wholesale deal

    • Grow retainer to $5k per month

  • Flowhub

    • Create website, mailers, pamphlets, and all initial marketing materials 

  • Personal brand goals

    • 12 Guest posts 

    • E-mail list - 1,200

    • Creative's Guide to Freelancing - Hit $2,500 in sales

    • Launch remote working course 

    • Do a video shoot of short videos for personal Youtube channel

    • Redesign home page

    • Proposal consulting

  • Do a stand up comedy open mic

  • Plan wedding

  • Bucket list - Hike a 14,000 ft mountain

Where will I be at the end of Quarter 2?

  • At the end of Quarter 2 I will be doing no project based work.

  • I will be working on Gun.io, Mapleton Drive and potentially Flowhub as my 3 primary clients. 

  • Gun.io will be generating $5k per month

  • Mapleton Drive will be generating $5k per month

  • I will have one additional client generating at least $3k per month

  • I will be balanced and not working too many hours (30 hours of client work per week max). 

  • I will feel relaxed and like I have an abundance of time. 

  • In that abundance of time I will be creating art pieces and writing.

  • I will not take calls before 11am MST. 

  • I will be doing public speaking and standup comedy. 

  • I will be climbing the ladders of guest posting for bigger and bigger publications. 

  • I will be generating a steady $11k per month by the end of Q2 with consulting & product sales. 

  • I will have sold at least $2,500 worth of The Creative's Guide to Freelancing.

  • I will be present, less stressed.

  • I will be getting more artistic with the work that I do. 

  • I will have read a lot of books and gained a lot of knowledge and new skills. 

  • I will have a Youtube channel going. 

  • I will be acting as an advisor for my clients and doing much less hands on work. 

The bottom line

If all of this overwhelms you, then at minimum set some goals. The most important part of this whole process is the simple act of setting goals and staying focused on achieving them.

When you learn to set goals and achieve them, your life will change forever. You will keep setting bigger goals, and knocking them down and suddenly you are in control of your destiny. 

Set some goals, you won't regret it. 

Blog, Creative Work, Creative Projects, Launch your Career, Freelancing, Personal Development, The Focused CreatorJake Jorgovan