Life is crazy. Most of us spend our days rushing frantically from one task to the next: get up, exercise, work, take care of the kids, cook dinner, eat, clean, watch TV, sleep, repeat. One day blurs into the next, and before you know it an entire month has disappeared. You look back and think, “where did the time go? What did I even accomplish this month?”
I’m right there with you – it’s really hard to settle down long enough to review past events and attach meaning and significance to them. That’s why taking a Personal Retreat Day is so important! Your monthly PRD offers the perfect opportunity for you to reflect on the past, dream about the future, and decide on next steps.
If all that sounds lofty and complicated, don’t fret! I’ve created a straightforward tool for you to make it super easy. Download your free copy of the PRD Assessment Grid from the homepage HERE. Then print it out & come back. I’ll wait.
To start, look at the column on the left-hand side. You’ll see categories corresponding to areas of your life like “Physical”, “Emotional”, “Intellectual” and so on. You’ll consider each of these categories while moving through the grid. (I’ve also included a couple of thought-provoking questions under each category to nudge your brain in the right direction).
Now look at the row across the top. The first thing you’ll see is REVIEW. Take some time to reflect on the past month in each category.
As you review, ask yourself questions: What went well? What concerns pop to mind? For example, consider your physical health. Did you get enough sleep? Did you get plenty of exercise and fresh air? How were your eating habits? Did you drink enough water, or did you drink too much alcohol? This is not meant to be a place for judgment, just observation. Give yourself grace – there’s nothing you can do about the past except learn from it. Jot down any significant insights. No need for a novel, you’ll notice that the space in the grid is quite small!
Next move on to the next space: DREAM. For each category in the left-hand column, think about some ideas to pursue in the future. Several options may come to mind, probably too many to accomplish in one month. That’s OK, this is a space for you to brainstorm. Going back to our physical health example, maybe you’d like to get more rest, start a yoga practice, and cut out sugar. Doing all of these at once is overwhelming, which is why the next step is to…
CHOOSE. Carefully consider which idea is most important to pursue this month. Write down a maximum of one idea for each category. (In the review stage, you may realize that some categories are just fine the way they are, and you’ll just want to maintain the status quo.) For our example, let’s say you decide that starting yoga is the #1 idea from your dream list to help you improve your physical health. Write down “Yoga” in the space under “Choose.”
Now that you’ve chosen something to work on for each category, it’s time to PLAN your steps. Saying you’ll start yoga is fine and dandy, but deciding the details is much more likely to make it stick. WHEN will you do yoga? Where? For how long? How many days per week? Will you go to a class, or find a YouTube video series? Do you have a mat? Write down your steps.
To show you how easy it is to use the grid, here’s our “example” for the category of Physical Health:
I hope you find this grid to be a helpful tool during your Personal Retreat Days, and that you see significant progress from month to month as you focus on your goals! If you need more assistance, I’m here for you. Contact me at wende@personalretreatday.com