Life seems to accelerate as we age, with days feeling longer but years shorter. To combat this, embracing intentional living through a quarterly approach allows us to catch up with ourselves and reshape our lives. This method involves setting short-term goals, making priorities more fluid, starting fresh more often, and syncing up with the seasons.
Embrace Short-Term Goals
Setting goals quarterly allows for cutting work into more bite-size, manageable pieces. This approach helps in avoiding discouragement about project length and prevents losing steam due to a lack of progress tracking. Shorter runways facilitate quicker and easier adjustments.
Schedule quarterly check-ins to reflect on progress made in just a few months. Blocking out a meeting-free day helps in-depth reflection on current status, future direction, what's working, and what needs reworking.
Making Priorities More Fluid
Quarterly check-ins aren’t just about monitoring goal progress; they're about understanding personal evolution. Allow yourself to redefine success and self-growth. Shift the question from "Is this considered successful?" to "Do I consider this successful?" to transform your perspective.
Ask yourself if everything on your plate still feels right. Journal through questions like:
Read also: Exploring Jenna Compono's story
- Does the work you do captivate your attention, or have new interests come into play?
- Do your priorities “on paper” reflect where you spend your time, money, and energy?
- Do the goals you’ve set still feel exciting?
- Is there anything you’re doing that no longer aligns with what you want?
Answering these questions helps identify trends and areas of overwhelm. Review previous notes to examine your trajectory.
Start Fresh More Often
The energy tied to a brand-new year can be harnessed throughout the year with quarterly check-ins. Claim each new season as a chance to reset and feel reinvigorated.
As each new quarter arrives, draw new starting lines. If you feel like you haven’t been making progress on your goals, you get a new day-one on them. If you're stuck in a rut, now’s the time to start carving a whole new path. Consider what’s been holding you back from seeing progress and write down what comes to mind so this new chapter can be truly effective. Think about whether your goals are too vague, no longer inspire you, need more support, or need to be broken down into more attainable pieces. Switch the question from "Is this considered successful?" to "Do I consider this successful?"
Sync Up With The Seasons
Living quarterly highlights how much the mind and body want to be in sync with the seasons. External changes remind us that we’re a part of nature, too.
No matter what the changing seasons look like where you live, a pause each quarter can remind you that you have seasons, too. There’s a temptation to always be growing and achieving more. But you can’t always be blooming. Your seasons might not necessarily link up to what's happening beyond your window: Maybe you’re a teacher who syncs up better with an academic calendar, or perhaps you like your schedule to restart on your birthday. For some, syncing up with the lunar calendar or another cultural calendar might work best.
Read also: Discover Jenna Johnson's champion physique story
Prioritizing Health: Jenna Kutcher's Approach
In today's fast-paced world, balancing work, family, and personal well-being can be challenging. Prioritizing health often feels impossible, leading to overwhelm and uncertainty about where to begin. But it is possible to make small changes to improve health.
Jenna Kutcher emphasizes that health was once the last priority on her list, often neglected. The turning point came with a shift in mindset, recognizing that routines should blend effortlessly into the day rather than feeling like a chore.
Mindset and Motivation
During the postpartum period with Quinn, Jenna Kutcher's goal shifted from outward appearance to inward feeling. She aimed to feel vibrant, strong, and energized not just for herself, but for her family and work. This internal motivation was key to making sustainable changes.
Simple, Effective Habits
Jenna Kutcher focuses on simple, effective habits to feel her best:
- Clean Skincare: Recognizing that skin is the largest organ, she transitioned to clean skincare products. Her skincare routine is about more than just looking good; it’s a way to care for herself, inside and out.
- Balance: Instead of focusing on rigid diets or intense workout programs, she tries to prioritize daily movement, nourishing foods, and hydration.
- Supplements: She includes supplements in her morning routine.
- Mid-Morning Workout: Instead of early morning workouts, she shifted to a mid-morning workout to keep her energy up.
- Mental Health: Mental health is just as important as physical health. Since learning she has ADHD, she’s embraced new ways to work with her brain rather than against it. She started doing consistent therapy, which has been life-changing for her and have focused on habits that help her function well mentally like focusing on quality sleep, scheduling her calendar in a way that allows her to focus, and making sure that she is taking breaks throughout the day.
- Hobbies: Having a hobby that she loves doing (even more than work) has been one of the most transformative experiences of her adult life. Having a creative outlet outside of work helps her feel balanced and present.
- Reading: She’s always reading something.
Addressing Societal Pressures: Ozempic and Weight Management
The use of medications like Ozempic for weight loss has become a topic of public discussion, especially among celebrities. Dr. Phil McGraw has voiced strong opinions against the criticism directed at individuals using such tools to manage their health. He argues that it is nobody's business how someone manages their health and that using medication to lose weight and reduce pressure on the heart should not be a source of shame or guilt.
Read also: Inspiring Wellness Story
His comments come in the wake of several celebrities, including Oprah Winfrey, publicly discussing their experiences with weight loss medications. Winfrey admitted that she had to let go of her own "shame" about using prescription medication to assist her in reaching her health goals. She emphasized that obesity is a disease, not a matter of willpower, and expressed relief at having a medically approved prescription for managing weight.
Dr. Terry Dubrow praised Winfrey for her openness, suggesting that her decision to discuss her choices publicly would have a significant positive impact on health and wellness, potentially saving lives.
The Ashton Kutcher Example: Health Challenges and Resilience
Actor Ashton Kutcher shared his experience with a rare form of vasculitis that affected his vision, hearing, and equilibrium. He described it as a challenging period where he was "lucky to be alive." Kutcher emphasized the importance of viewing obstacles as opportunities for growth and appreciating one's health.
He also underwent a physical transformation for a role, involving intense workouts and a change in diet. Kutcher noted the importance of a support system in achieving difficult goals and highlighted his motivation to leave life better than he found it.