Mid-Year Check-in: The Power of Speed
My life coach, Amber Campion, has a group coaching session that accompanies her planner. The group meets quarterly online, and I jumped in for the 2nd Quarter call in June. In 1 hour she led a rapid-fire check in. Each of us were in our own spaces on mute, so there was no getting lost in introductions or story — yet there was energetic communion.
With Amber as the time keeper, prompter and space holder, we ran through questions — writing rapidly, almost insanely for my part — as the timer was set for only 2 or 3 minutes for each question. I've never done such short writing bursts. The first couple questions were prompts around looking at the last 3 months. Accomplishments, progress on goals, how things are feeling upon reflection.
The next 9 or so questions were about the next 3 months ahead. They became a quick check-in to see if any pivots are needed and any new longings uncovered. Since Amber's a life coach, the questions covered relationship, creativity, health and other life areas in addition to business goals.
This speedy approach felt refreshing and revitalizing. I needed to remind myself to breathe at times. I felt alive and in touch with my intuition. Not all answers flowed smoothly, but this practice felt like an amazing exercise for developing better decision-making and quick internal check-in practices. Overall it supports knowing yourself and what's really going on. It blows apart those notions that huge swathes of time need to be set aside for in-depth reflection.
After this invigorating experience, I realize I get lost in moments with too much time. I enjoy them but also start to power down and lose overall momentum. There's too much time and space for the inner critic to step in and start waging battle — whereas in 2–3 minute bursts, the critics had to just sit back and watch. There wasn't time to tune in to more than one voice as my pen scrawled insights and hopes and dreams across the page. There wasn't even time to pay attention to lines on the paper, spelling, or complete sentences. How freeing! And empowering… I took in that info and was revving my engine, ready to launch into the next 3 months feeling both focused and energized.
