Most people do a year-end review in December and a goal-setting session in January. Both are useful. But by the time December arrives, six months of course-correction opportunities have passed. The mid-year audit — done in late June or early July — is when you can still change the outcome.
Why Mid-Year, Not Year-End
Six months of data is enough to see structural patterns. It's not enough to be discouraging. You have six months left to act on what you find. A year-end audit is archaeology. A mid-year audit is a steering adjustment.
What to Export and Review
- →Layer distribution per month — how the percentage of time in each category trended from January through June
- →Average meeting-to-focus ratio — did the ratio shift over the period? In which direction?
- →Weeks with the highest focus time vs. weeks with the highest meeting density — what was different about those weeks?
- →Personal time trend — was it stable, declining, or already gone by February?
The 6 Questions
Work through these in writing. Not in your head — write them down. The act of writing forces specificity.
- →Did the first six months reflect my stated priorities at the start of the year?
- →Which category consistently underperformed relative to my intentions?
- →Was there a month that felt right? What was structurally different about that month?
- →Am I more or less depleted than I was in January?
- →What one structural change would most improve the next six months?
- →What is my target layer distribution for Q3 and Q4?
The Mid-Year Calendar Contract
At the end of the audit, write down two things: one structural change you're committing to for the second half of the year, and one metric you'll track to know if you're keeping it. Not goals. Not aspirations. One change and one measurement.
Example: 'I will protect a minimum of 25% deep work time each week. I will check Tempo every Friday to confirm this.' That's it. One change. One number. Tracked weekly.
The mid-year audit isn't about finding out how badly you've failed. It's about having accurate information early enough to use it. Six months of honest calendar data, six questions, one change, one metric. The whole process takes about an hour. The outcome can change the year.