Hey Reader

While January 1st gets a lot of hype for being a potential fresh start, I'm often more excited about mid-year 😝

Not only is it a natural starting point for new goals and projects, it also feels softer than New Years.

The mid-year crossover doesn't come with the same perfectionistic pressure that a lot of us feel when moving into a new calendar year, but it still makes for a good milestone moment.

While I'm certainly eager to move into Quarter 3, I'm also still carrying some slump-esque feelings lingering from the last few months.

Maybe it’s the tasks I haven't quite completed, the routines that slipped through the cracks, or just mental clutter that’s built up from a busy few months. Either way, I don’t want to take that energy with me into Q3.

That's why, with the end of June fast approaching, I've started planning my quarterly reset 😈

"Reset week" is the last week of each quarter for me. It's a period dedicated to getting ready for the quarter ahead and taking some intentional time off to recuperate.

It’s the thing that helps me close out the past few months and prepare intentionally for what’s to come.

While I like to spread my reset tasks over a full week, you can still achieve a similar fresh slate in a day or even an afternoon. So how do we plan a reset that’s helpful, not just another overwhelming to-do list?

Let's have a look 👀

The idea - Do a quarterly reset to get cool, calm, and collected

The goal of a reset isn’t to tick off 1,000 tasks. It’s about taking stock of where you’re at, letting go of what’s no longer serving you, and intentionally setting yourself up for a smoother, more aligned period ahead.

1. Outline your purpose

The essential first step is to start with purpose.

While I like considering purpose first with almost any endeavour, I feel it's even more important when it comes to a reset.

Your time is precious, so we want to make sure it's getting used in ways that will be meaningful.

Before writing down any tasks for your reset, ask yourself:

My reset's purpose is always knowing what I'm going to work on for the quarter ahead (both goals and projects), setting myself up for success by making sure I'm well-rested, and that I've set up systems which will help future-me get things done 💪

Your purpose should be something that resonates with you though, and identifying it first is going to help you brainstorm and select your most meaningful reset actions.

2. Brainstorm your reset actions

This brainstorming makes for our second step and here we just want to get all our ideas of what our reset could entail out of our heads.

This doesn't necessarily mean every task we think of will make it into the reset plan, but I like to reward myself for having the thoughts by putting them onto paper.

Questions you can use to help your reset brainstorming are:

When it comes to brainstorming, I always find it easiest to do this in categories. I'll run through each of my life categories and think of the tasks I want to do as related to that area.

If you feel the same would be helpful for you, it can pay to outline those life areas first. I encourage you to pick yours for yourself, but mine are:

• Physical health
• Mental health
• Home
• Goals
• Calendar / Planning
• Digital spaces
• Work
• Personal development
• Self-care
• Social
• Leisure
• Finances

While these can help form the basis of your reset areas, make sure to eliminate ones that you don't feel you need to reset in, and add in any that are missing 👌

3. Select your reset actions

With your general ideas listed out, now it's time to prune it down.

We likely won't have time for every single thing on the list, but identifying the most essential parts can help us ensure our reset has the impact we're hoping for.

The tasks that don't make the cut aren't necessarily never going to happen. They just might not happen during the reset period so that we can make sure the most important ones do.

4. Estimate the time per task

Now that you’ve picked your final reset actions, give each one a rough time estimate.

It doesn’t need to be perfect. This is more about getting a general sense of how much time you’ll need for the reset, and whether you actually have the time for everything you've selected.

Is that "quick tidy" actually going to take 15 minutes or closer to an hour? Will writing out your Q3 goals take you 30 minutes, or is that more like a full afternoon task? 🤔

Despite not being great at time estimating, I find that having an estimate is always better than not.

If I neglect to consider the amount of time things will or might take, then I more likely than not will over-book my reset week.

The last thing we want is for our reset to leave us more frazzled than when we started 😝 Estimating how long each part will take can help us make sure we aren't putting too much on our plates.

5. Schedule your reset tasks

With your priorities chosen and your time estimates in hand, the next step is to schedule your reset tasks.

As my reset goes over a full week, I start by blocking out any time dedicated to events or commitments I already have scheduled.

The time left over is what I can slot my reset tasks into. I'll normally use a print out of a weekly schedule that I can highlight with different task blocks to cover everything I put on my reset task list.

You don't have to be as specific as saying what you'll be doing hour by hour, but having a rough outline of when you want to do each of your reset tasks can help you make sure they actually happen.

Once your resetting is scheduled though, then it's just time to get excited about it! 🥳

My Q2 reset

Here’s what I’m including in my reset this time around:

Physical health

• Plan 4 lunches and breakfasts for Q3
• Meal prep for Week 1
• Find a stretching routine

Mental health

• Do a thorough brain dump
• Prioritise better sleep

Personal care

• Have an everything shower
• Dye my hair

Goals

• Reflect on Q2 goal work
• Brainstorm Q3 goals
• Plan Q3 goals
• Plan Q3 projects

Planning and organisation

• Schedule my Q3 ideal week
• Update my digital calendar
• Populate my new journal pages

Personal development

• Make a Q3 reading plan
• Select my Q3 self-improvement habits

Home

• Do a full-house tidy
• Clear clutter hotspots
• Reorganise the fridge and freezer

Digital spaces

• Inbox zero
• Back up files
• Remove / tidy up folder entropy

Work

• Do the minimum viable work for the week
• Prioritise my Q3 work projects
• Update my work schedules for Q3

Finances

• Populate my finance tracker
• Log my tax information
• Plan our Q2 finance review

Social and leisure

• Plan my Q3 social events
• Attend reset week social events
• Have intentional downtime during the week

Do you need to do the exact same actions as me?

No, that's actually not a great idea 😝

What's important is that your reset process fits the areas of life that you want to refresh and contains tasks that will help you enter Q3 more cool, calm, and collected.

Let's take action

Thinking about the time you couple of weeks we have left in June, and the plans you have for Quarter 3, plan a reset to help you get ready for the period ahead.

Our reset planning stages can be summarised as:

1. Outline your purpose
2. Brainstorm your reset actions
3. Select your reset actions
4. Estimate the time per task
5. Schedule your reset period

I'd love to hear about what you're planning for your reset! Whether it's a full week, just a day, or even only a few hours, hit reply and tell me what you're thinking of doing.

Until next time!

- Jess

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