Tomorrow is July 2nd which is the exact middle of the year. On that day, there will be officially as many days behind you in the year as ahead of you.

People tend to have two reactions to this news:

  • That’s all? We’re only at the half-way point?
  • Holy crud, really? I thought we had so much time left!

Either way, the middle of the year seldom feels like the middle of the year.

But knowing when the dead center of the year is can actually be a really useful tool and a great opportunity to give yourself (or your business) a mid-year performance review.

Remember those goals you set for yourself on New Year’s Eve? Even if you didn’t call them resolutions exactly, everyone has plans for how things will change in the new year. Instead of crying into your champagne next New Years Eve because you didn’t manage to meet all your goals, the middle of the year is the ideal time to take a look at the goals you’ve set and tweak them to give you a better chance of a happier New Year’s Eve.

If you are still on pace to meet those goals, great! You should still take a hard look at them. Are you meeting them a little too easily? Could you maybe add a few more goals? Push yourself a little harder?

If you’re behind, it’s time to reevaluate. What you reevaluate, however, is up to you. Take a hard look at your goals and what you accomplished so far this year. How much of what you planned have you actually done? How far behind are you really?

If you are just about almost hitting those goals, stay on the course. You just a little bit of effort away from being on pace.

If you think you are working at your absolute maximum capacity but are really far behind, then you should reevaluate your goals. Maybe you just set them way too high or put unreasonable demands on yourself. It’s OK to ratchet them back a little in the face of realism and it will make for a happier you for the second half of the year.

If you are really far behind but have to admit that you’ve been slacking off, then maybe its time to reevaluate your work habits. Could you work smarter, more efficiently and get more done? Sometimes, knowing how much time is left exactly can be the cold water to the face to kick-start your work ethic.

Either way, set aside some time tomorrow to take a look at the half-a-year that has passed and the half-a-year yet to come. Better to do it now when there is still time to adjust then let a whole year go by with no adjustment.