Things to remember as we pass the mid-way mark in 2018.

We all (hopefully) start the year off fresh faced, bright eyed and full of ambitious personal goals for the year, as we cross the half way point for the year and fight our way through the other half of winter it's so important to take some time to evaluate where we are in relation to the goals we set at the start of the year. At this point of the year some of the shine will no doubt have worn off of your initial optimism and it may be very well be the case you need a few days of leave around this period to recharge and prepare for the second half of the year. I am going to go through a few of the things you should be looking to do at this point in the year to make sure you stay on track.

Look at the goals you set yourself

Hopefully this isn't the first time since the start of the year you are re-looking at them but even if it is, take this time to evaluate what you wanted to achieve, look back at the first half of the year and see how much progress you have made. It's important not to berate yourself (or flatter yourself) too much here, but try and be as realistic as possible, examine what challenges you had, and if your goal is still attainable or if the posts need to be adjusted. Don't scrap a goal, even if you have made no progress at this point, re-evaluate and start again.

Look at your professional relationships

It's definitely at the point in the year where even the most patient and tolerant people are becoming frustrated. This is an opportunity to step away from whatever the issues are, whatever the frustrations or disappointments in your colleague have been and to try, in earnest, to move forward. This is definitely something I am learning to do and I'll admit to not being able to get it right with everyone, but even taking the time to acknowledge this is what you should be doing is progress; however small. There is still a long way to go in the year and you'll likely need this person sooner or later.

Examine your energy levels

It's the time of the year to consider a reasonable break, school holidays are upon us, odds are there is somewhere much warmer and much sunnier not far away that will do wonders to recharge your batteries; even if it's just a long weekend, the change of scenery (and time in the sun) will do wonders for you. One of the best pieces of advice I ever received is to do something new, break the routine, it had such a powerful effect on your outlook and mentality.

We need markers like this, whether it be bi-annual, quarterly, monthly or weekly. We need to look back over these periods to examine what we wanted to do and measure what we have done, progress is painfully difficult to measure without constantly re-examining the road traveled and measuring just how far we have come. These markers allow us an opportunity to reflect and decide if we need to push harder, re-evaluate, or take a step back from a goal or challenge.

However your year has been, whatever progress you have made, you have a new marker and point of evaluation to push forward from. I'd love to know how you are feeling as we sail into the second half of 2018!