September Reflection: Assess & Purge

The Last Four Months

Let's use the last four months of the year intentionally, giving each month a focus.
September — Assess & Purge
October — Plan
November — Clean Up
December — Celebrate

September — Assess & Purge
September is about taking a step back and looking at where you are.

The first eight months of the year have already happened. This is a chance to pause and take stock of what has been going on, what is working, what isn't, and what may need your attention.

Assess
Look at the different areas of your life and ask yourself: How am I doing? What's going well? What needs attention? What do I want more of?
Purge
Once you've taken stock, decide what you no longer need to carry forward. This could be habits, commitments, clutter, unfinished tasks, ways of thinking, or anything else that is taking up space without adding value.

The goal isn't to judge the year or fix everything at once. It's simply to see where you are, clear some space, and create a better starting point for the months ahead.

To help with the assessment, I put together a list of Life Areas you can use to check in with yourself.
Explore the Life Areas here.

Here are a few tasks you can carry out.

Task 1: Life Areas Assessment
In a spreadsheet, list the Life Areas and any subcategories that are applicable to you.
In the columns next to them, give each area a rating from 0 to 5 based on how you currently feel about it.

Task 2: Take a Closer Look
In a new sheet, copy the areas or particular subareas that you want to assess more closely.
Create columns for each of the following questions below and write your thoughts next to each area or subarea:

1. What worked?
2. What did not work?
3. Could I change, start, or stop anything in this area to improve or maintain it? (Yes, No, Maybe, No Need)
4. What can I or cannot I change in this area?

5. What is working well that I want to keep?

Task 3: My Purge List 
Looking back at your assessment, make a list of the things you have decided to let go of, reduce, stop, simplify, or clear from your life.

I will let go of:
I will stop:
I will reduce:
I will simplify:
I will clear:

When doing this assessment, you can also use these questions to guide your thinking:
How do I feel about this?
What is my attitude or mindset around this?
What are the obstacles? Are they coming from me or from outside influences?

What else comes to mind?

What am I spending too much time or energy on?

What am I avoiding?

What keeps coming up that I need to pay attention to?

What would make this area feel better?

What do I wish were different?

What am I grateful for in this area?

What have I learned about myself?

What do I want to carry forward?