How to do a Mid-year Reset

The halfway point of the year brings up a mix of thoughts, from wondering where the time went to figuring out what comes next. Maybe your January intentions are thriving, or perhaps they quietly dissolved back in February, leaving you with low-grade guilt while you scrambled to stay busy.

January 1st is an arbitrary date driven by culture rather than internal readiness. Forcing yourself to overhaul habits during the darkest, coldest, most energy-depleted stretch of the year forces your recovering nervous system to sprint when it naturally wants rest.

June offers a perfect opportunity to check in and choose to change. Instead of relying on predictions or hopes, you now have six months of real data to assess what actually got your attention, where your energy went, and how to look both backward and forward at the same time.

This week, episode 316 of the Positively Living® Podcast shares a simple, three-question framework to help you pause, clear out what isn't serving you, and make a sustainable plan on your own terms.

Key Takeaways:

• Realize that sustainable change requires adequate energy and internal readiness, not just an arbitrary calendar date during winter depletion .
• Use the halfway mark of the year to work with actual factual information about your habits instead of relying on predictions or guesses .
• Name your systems and small wins without rushing through them, because identifying what went right shows you the conditions that helped you thrive .
• Identify where plans fell apart and look closely at the root cause, whether it was wrong timing, over-planning, or a lack of capacity .
• Choose how you want to feel or who you want to be over complex, rigid goals when your next immediate steps are unclear .

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LINKS MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE:

Episode 136: Reflections Instead of Resolutions

Episode 242: A Reverse Approach to Better Achieve Your Goals

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Transcript

Lisa Zawrotny: 0:20

What does a mid-year reset actually look like? At its core, it's a deliberate pause, a chance to review where you've been, celebrate what you've accomplished, clear out what's no longer serving you, and make a realistic plan for the months ahead: part reflection, part declutter, part recalibration. It doesn't have to be complicated. In fact, the simpler you make it, the more likely you are to actually do it, and that's what we want. You're listening to the Positively Living Podcast. I'm your host, Lisa Zarotni, founder of Positively Productive Systems, and a productivity coach certified in positive psychology and stress management. Join me as we explore ways to live a more proactive, positive life with episodes on productivity, self-awareness, mindset, entrepreneur life, habits, and systems, simplicity, fun, and more. I understand overwhelm personally as a multi-passionate entrepreneur, wife and mom to kids and cats, and as a caregiver I'm here to help you choose what's right for you, so you can do less, live more, and breathe easier. Sound good? Let's get to it. Welcome to the Positively Living Podcast. I'm your host, Lisa, and if you're anything like me, the halfway point of the year brings up so many things, from where'd the time go to okay, what now? Maybe you had big plans for January, and those plans are going beautifully, and I'm cheering you on if that's the case, or maybe they quietly dissolved somewhere around February, if you were lucky, and you've been carrying a low-grade guilt about it ever since, except you've probably been too busy to think about it. No matter what the case, this episode is for you. Because here's what I want you

to know: 2:10

January isn't the only time to reset. It's commonly used because it's the new year, according to our shared calendar, but it doesn't have to be your new year, you get to choose when to reset your life. You don't need a specific date, a milestone, or even the right conditions, necessarily. What you need most is a moment to check in and to make the decision that something needs to change. And June gives you the perfect opportunity to do both, check in and choose to change. I'll grant you that this is my belief, but I don't think January was ever the ideal starting point for us. So, let's be honest about January for a second. The pressure to begin fresh, set goals, overhaul your habits, and transform yourself all during the darkest, coldest, most energy-depleted stretch of the year, for those of us in the Northern Hemisphere, is a lot to ask. January 1 is an arbitrary date, and while the enthusiasm is real, the timing is driven by culture and calendar rather than any internal readiness. Your nervous system is still recovering from the holidays, and for some, daylight is scarce. Your body wants rest, yet we're asking it to sprint. It's not surprising that so many resolutions lose steam by February. The timing works against us. Research on behavior change consistently shows that sustainable habits require adequate energy, stable routines, and a genuine sense of readiness, not just willpower and a date on a calendar. And January, for many people, is low on all of those things. So, if your January intentions didn't stick, that's worth understanding rather than judging. And if you weren't able to play the catch up you wanted, I got you. June can work just as well. And here's what makes June particularly useful: evidence. You now have six months of real data from the start of the year to assess how it's going, instead of predictions, hopes, or resolutions, you have actual information you can compare to your goals. You can reflect on what got your attention, what fell away, where your energy went, what surprised you, and how now compares to where you wanted to be. Having that perspective makes all the difference. You're working with real information instead of guessing, and the timing allows you to look both backward and forward at the same time. You can see what happened, but you still have enough of the year ahead to make meaningful movement. So, what does a mid-year reset actually look like? At its core, it's a deliberate pause, a chance to review where you've been, celebrate what you've accomplished, clear out what's no longer serving you, and make a realistic plan for the months

ahead: 5:14

part reflection, part declutter, part recalibration. It doesn't have to be complicated. In fact, the simpler you make it, the more likely you are to actually do it, and that's what we want. Start with these three

questions: 5:29

one, what worked? Where did you show up the way you wanted to? What habits, systems, or choices served you well? While I understand the desire to focus on what you want to change, what you want to improve. Please don't skip this one, and don't rush through it. Naming what worked, including your small wins, tells you what to keep and what to build upon. I love the phrase 'Success leaves clues, most attributed to Tony Robbins, it's the idea that identifying what went right shows you what you're passionate about and the conditions that helped you thrive. Plus, it's important to celebrate your wins for so many reasons. Question two is, what didn't work? Where did things fall apart, get skipped, or never start, in addition to those questions you want to ask yourself, why it's not just where or what, but why was it the wrong goal, was it the wrong timing, the wrong approach, or simply too much at once. We talked about energy management recently, maybe you didn't have the capacity. All of those answers will shape what comes next. And question three, what needs to shift based on what you know now? What would you do differently? A reset might mean continuing what's working, adjusting what isn't, or scrapping something entirely and beginning fresh, any of those things could work. If your goals or needs have changed, now is the time to adjust. You want to make sure that what you're doing reflects and honors your current life. You might work through these questions as a journaling session. It could also be a voice memo while you're taking a walk, or taking a drive, or a conversation with someone you trust. It could be a friend, an accountability partner, a coach. Any of these things can work. It will depend on how you process ideas best. Extroverts, I'm talking to you because I know that works, huh? So, yeah, extroverts. I'm an extrovert. I know you're shocked. I'm glad you're sitting down. I hope you're sitting down. It helps, because as I express my ideas, I'm able to process them. So, if you're an extrovert, having a conversation may be incredibly helpful. Choose the format that will encourage you to pause to reflect and to make these decisions for going forward. Whichever one works is the best one to choose. And if you'd like to listen to more about reflecting, episode 136 reflections instead of resolutions is a great companion to this episode, and if you want a concrete approach to the goal-setting side, episode 242 a reverse approach to better achieve your goals works really well with the reset process. Once you've done this check-in, the next part is deciding what you want to move toward. A few things that help are start with what's already working. As I mentioned earlier, it's important to reflect on your success, so that you can use it to build upon building upon what works and growing what you've started is an efficient approach. It's actually a very productive way to do this, though it's important to make sure that you're building upon something you still want. That's why reflection is so important. You want to choose intentions over goals, especially when the path isn't clear. I want to feel more rested is a great place to start. For example, you don't need to have a goal or specific steps right away, we're often encouraged to create what are called SMART goals, S M A R T, specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time bound, and that can be a good approach, but don't let that get in the way of setting these intentions and understanding who you want to be, how you want to be, how you want to feel. Sometimes starting with a simple intention can help you find the habits that you need to create the change. It's another entry point for getting where you need to go, and you want to think in seasons. Summer has its own rhythm, vacations, shifting schedules, less structure. A reset that works with that reality will serve you far better than one that ignores it. Seasonality is really important when it comes to planning and intention setting, and also when it comes to changing your approach. Remember that if your plan needs to change to fit the season that you're in, that's not a detour, that's not a failure, that's not a problem, it's good planning, and you can always change it back. You set the terms. I keep thinking of pretty woman, it's something we quote in my family all the time. She says, "I say who, I say when, I say how much. Yeah, you get to choose. So, here's what I want you to take away from this episode: you're allowed to treat any moment as a turning point. The permission doesn't come from a date, it comes from you deciding that now is a good time to pay attention and choose what's right for you. If you listen to this episode in the middle of November, or if you catch it in March, anytime you hear this is the right time. Now, I originally recorded this for June because it's a natural prompt, it's a moment that already feels like a transition. There's still half the year left, if the calendar year matters to you, but you can do this anytime. A Monday morning, a week after a big project wraps up, your birthday, my biz bestie loves to call her birthday her new year. It's a great time, honestly. Whenever it feels like a turning point for you, choose that. Permission to choose your own timing also means permission to change the plan. It's not only timing to reflect, it's also allowing you to say what's no longer working, what you want to change. Course correcting isn't failure, it is good judgment, and I highly encourage it. Choosing your own timing isn't a workaround, it's an honest, sustainable approach to how change actually works. We don't transform in one dramatic movement. I mean, I think we'd like to, and it feels like a satisfying idea, and cinema and social media kind of push for that, but it doesn't work in real life. We need to check in, recalibrate, and adjust again and again and again, as life and seasons and we evolve, whether you do a mid year reset or not. I hope this episode encourages you to pause and reflect with curiosity, not criticism, to ask what's worth carrying forward, what can be set down, and what you'd like to move toward on your own terms, you don't need January, you never did. And if you're ready to reset, but you're not sure where to start, maybe you'd like a thinking partner, an accountability partner. I'm happy to help. A clarity call is a great place to begin. You can find details about the clarity call and all the different ways that you can work with me at Positively productive.com/coaching