Check Your Progress

Remember progress reports?

They came before the final report card.

They weren't the end of the grading period.

They were a chance to see where we stood while there was still time to do something about it.

Maybe we were doing better than we thought.

Maybe one class needed more attention.

Maybe there was an assignment we forgot to turn in.

Maybe the grade wasn't where we wanted it to be yet.

But that was the point.

The progress report gave us information before the final grade.

As adults, I think we need progress reports too.

Especially when we're working toward something that takes time.

We can get so focused on completing the assignment that we forget to check whether what we're doing is actually working.

We're busy.

We're showing up.

We're checking things off.

We're attending meetings.

We're sending emails.

We're working.

But activity and progress aren't always the same thing.

Sometimes we need to stop long enough to ask:

Is this moving me forward?

That's not always an easy question.

Because progress doesn't look the same in every season.

Sometimes progress is more revenue.

More customers.

A completed project.

A new opportunity.

Something measurable and visible.

Other times progress looks quieter.

A better system.

A boundary we finally maintained.

A conversation we stopped avoiding.

A skill we're becoming more comfortable using.

A process that takes less time than it did before.

A decision we can now make with greater confidence.

Consistency itself can be progress.

That's why we have to know what we're measuring.

If the assignment is to increase revenue, we should probably know the numbers.

If the assignment is to build relationships, we should look at our follow-up.

If the assignment is professional development, we should be able to identify what we're learning and applying.

If the assignment is creating better systems, things should eventually become easier to repeat.

If the assignment is protecting our capacity, success may actually look like doing less—but doing the right things better.

The measurement has to match the assignment.

And checking our progress isn't an invitation to beat ourselves up.

A progress report isn't the final grade.

It's information.

Maybe something needs more attention.

Maybe the strategy needs adjusting.

Maybe we need tutoring.

Maybe we need more resources.

Maybe we need to pull a weed.

Maybe we need to rest.

Or maybe we need to recognize that something we've been working toward is actually working.

We should notice that too.

Sometimes we're so focused on how far we still have to go that we don't acknowledge how much has already changed.

Look back.

What can you do now that was difficult before?

What have you completed?

What have you learned?

What became more consistent?

What did you stop carrying?

What did you finally start using?

What evidence exists today that didn't exist when this season began?

That's progress.

We're not at the end of September yet.

We're not at the end of the school year.

And we're definitely not finished growing.

But we don't have to wait until graduation to find out whether we're learning.

Take a look at the work.

Check the numbers.

Notice the changes.

Be willing to adjust.

And give yourself credit for the evidence that is already there.

Check your progress.