The Autopilot Problem
You go from month to month doing the same things. The same priorities. The same approaches. Even when they are not working. This is autopilot. Autopilot feels productive because you are busy. Autopilot is actually stagnation. You are not adjusting. You are not learning. You are just executing the same plan that was wrong in January.
The Monthly Reset
Once a month, take two hours. Not to plan the next month. To review the last month. Three questions. What worked? What did not? What am I changing? These are not rhetorical questions. They require honest answers.
What Worked
What worked is not everything you did. What worked is the two or three things that actually moved the needle. Most of what you did was background activity. The 20% of effort that produced 80% of results. Identify it. Do more of it next month.
What Did Not
What did not is everything else. The things you thought would work that did not. The things you kept doing because they were comfortable. The priorities that looked important but produced nothing. Identify them. Stop doing at least one of them next month.
The Recalibrate
Based on the answers, recalibrate. Change one priority. Drop one thing that is not working. Add one thing that should have been there. Small adjustments compound. The monthly reset keeps you from running on autopilot and falling behind while you look busy.
