Pop. Crackle. Exhale.

Is there anything more satisfying than cracking open the spine of a new journal? Rolling a fresh page of matte no-bleed paper in between your thumb and index finger…

Yes, this 30-something still giddily skips down the aisle for new school supplies.

Maybe that’s why I still get excited about… my monthly report card?!

????

“NERD” might as well be written in sharpie on my forehead.

As a kid, opening my report card launched a flood of butterflies in my stomach and richter-5 quakes in my hands. That’s because school measured my work according to someone else’s standard.

Bleck! Who really wants to feel judged by someone else?!

Now that I’m an adult, I always get to pick out my favorite school supplies (heck, I love school supplies so much, I even designed my own Present & Productive Planner Journal!)…

And I write my own personal Monthly Report Card ????.

Yes this super-geek keeps a report card.

My Report Card gently nudges me to keep the promises I make to myself.

It’s a practice I developed to improve my follow-through skills… recognizing that I get to create my own definition of success. Even if that means asking for an extension, changing a project, or deciding to drop a goal. End of story, no questions needed.

Sometimes my report card is out of sight for a couple of days (or those busy weeks), but it’s always there to help me learn from my past month and navigate a new course ahead.

My report card helps me…

• Track my intentions
• See what goals are worthwhile
• Visualize where I’m procrastinating
• Decide when to let go of a project
• Prioritize different action steps toward my goals
• See which habits are sticking
• Brainstorm new approaches to habits that aren’t catching hold

Learning from my past month is the ultimate outcome.

By the time I get to the end of the month, I have a snapshot of how my intentions aligned with how I spent my time. Planning for the next month is so much easier when you have a baseline.

I used to absolutely dread the end of the month. BAM! It would arrive, completely disorienting, bringing waves of disappointment around everything I had left undone, half-finished… bright ideas fallen by the wayside like unpaired socks left on the floor (How is it that socks always get lost and mismatched no matter how hard I try to keep tabs on them?)

Now with my monthly scorecard I have a fun way to check in with myself and stay accountable to the promises I make to myself.

And yes, it can be fun! Imagine if your grade school report card were playful with:

• Favorite colored pens (or multi-colored like me!)
• Color-coding which action items align with your greater goals
• Writing love notes to yourself
• Sprinkling fun doodles and drawings
• Silly stickers! Is anything more fun than stickers? (flashback to my 90s holographic sticker collection)

Is your interest piqued yet?

Obviously, as a super-nerd, I’d love to help you get your own monthly report card up-and-running… so you can stop losing track of your dreams and make accountability the most awesome adventure possible! Save 20-minutes on my calendar for a (totally free) productivity audit and test out how a Monthly Report Card might accelerate your goals.