Why I’ve switched to daily and weekly check ins


HAILLEY GRIFFIS

Happy Monday 🌞

One of the bigger changes I made for myself this year when it comes to my work and working towards my goals isn’t necessarily about the systems themselves but the timing of those systems.

I’ve shared a lot of the tried and true systems I use in my work and life this year. How I set goals, manage performance reviews for myself and others, review my week, and create more content with a content creation system.

I realized recently that it’s not just about these systems and habits I’ve put into place, but the timing of how frequently I do them that is just as important.

For some reason, a lot of my old systems were set up to occur every month. Review my goals monthly, review my performance monthly, etc. Those systems are now weekdays and weekly, respectively, and they’re serving me much better.

It seems like it would be easier to check in only 12 times a year instead of 52 or hundreds of check-ins — but I’ve found that it’s not. It’s the opposite.

The less frequent the check-ins, the more energy it took to start that specific routine because I didn’t do it very often. I lost the flow of it.

On the other hand, I check in on my goals on weekdays and in my weekly review. These more regular checks have the benefit of only taking me a couple of minutes, plus they keep my goals top of mind when thinking about how I want to spend my time on any upcoming week.

Now:

  • I check in on my goals most weekdays in a Notion Daily Journal.
  • I do a weekly review of the past week and plan for the week ahead.
  • I make performance review notes weekly.
  • I do content creation weekly.

At my best for exercise, it was the same. I was exercising every day. It meant it wasn’t a question of “What days am I exercising?” It was “When am I exercising every day?” I just picked the mornings and stuck to them. Exercising daily made everything simpler, and I worked out more than I ever had before.

All that to say, if you’re trying to achieve something or a habit you’re working on, consider doing it more frequently. Is it possible to do it daily?

You might be surprised how doing things more often takes less time and mental energy.

I hope you have a lovely week ahead. As always, feel free to reply if this sparks any thoughts or questions.

See you next week,

Hailley

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Hailley Griffis

A long-time remote worker, career growth enthusiast, and personal systems fan, I juggle working full time as Buffer's Head of Communications and Content, running a podcast about creating purposeful workflows called MakeWorkWork, and I write and update what I learn on my website and newsletter.

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