Why You Need A Quarterly Review

At the end of each quarter, the Investment Committee of our company meets with our financial advisor. We review the current stock market climate, recent news affecting the markets, portfolio performance over the past quarter, and actions we might need or want to take in order to meet future expectations. We’ve held these meetings on a regular basis for several years, and these review sessions provide a great opportunity to look at our investments, and assess how we’re doing in relationship to our goals.

I arrived home after our most recent meeting, and my wife, Heidi, shared that our two dogs and cat had all been to the vet that day. She filled me in on their annual checkup, which consisted of a physical exam, three vaccinations, and two additional tests.

As Heidi explained how the check-ups went, I thought about the parallels between our pets’ appointments and the investment meeting I had earlier that day. I also remembered I had just made an appointment for my car to be picked up for its “60,000-mile service.” This scheduled maintenance includes an oil change, fluid checks, tire pressure checks, a brake inspection, and various diagnostic tests.

As a society, we certainly go to great lengths to check the status of our investments, our pets, and our cars, don’t we? Why is it, do you suppose, that so many people fail to do the same thing for themselves?

How are you doing? Do you take better care of your pets and your car than you do yourself?

For many years, I’ve built a support structure of quarterly reviews into my schedule and life. 90 days is a great time frame not only for a 30,000-foot review of our investment portfolio, but also for a review of every area of our lives. 

I’ve written before about the 90-day timeframe, calling it the “magic timeframe for achieving your goals“. Why? Because 90 days is long enough to make significant progress toward your desired outcomes, but short enough that, if for some reason you fall short, you’re able to quickly regroup and get back on track.

One strategy for your 90-day review is to take a quick “snapshot” of your life, to assess how you’re doing in each area of life. Use the 1-10 rating system, answering the question “How are you doing in each area of life, on a scale of 1 to 10 (with 10 being ‘excellent’)?”

How are you doing in your career or business? What is the quality of your relationships with those closest to you? How is your health? Are you engaging in regular physical activity? How about the area of faith or spirituality? What are you doing to play and have fun? How are you learning and growing?

Each of these areas is important, and worthy of reflection. Just as we want to make sure our cars are kept in good condition, it’s also important to do the same for ourselves.

The second question to ask is “What would it take to get to a 10?” Your answers to this question will form the basis for your action plan over the next 90 days and beyond. Write your answers down in a notebook or journal.

If you’re pressed for time, you can complete this exercise in less than an hour. Invest this time in your personal development, and you will see dramatic results in the quality of your life, simply by taking this time to reflect on the status and direction of your life.

Of course, you can also turn this quarterly review into a day-long, or even a weekend exercise. This involves a deeper review of each area of life, and will result in a more comprehensive action plan for the next 90 days and beyond.

For example, the review of your business might include examining your most profitable products/services and customers, and determining strategies for focusing more attention on the most profitable areas of your business. It could also include reviewing the most important people in your business, and how to support and inspire them to be successful. 

I call this “putting life under a microscope.” Once you complete your review, then decide what actions you’re going to take in the next 90 days.

Repeat this type of review for every area of your life. Answer questions such as:
What should you do more of?
What should you do less of?
What should you start doing?
What should you stop doing?

It’s extremely important to take time regularly to think about each area of your life. Just as servicing your car regularly helps to increase its performance, this type of review provides a powerful framework for making significant progress, and achieving greater success.

Success comes from identifying what you want to achieve, creating a plan, and then carrying out that plan over time. Incorporating a 90-day review into your life will help expand your ability to create the results you seek – in every area of life.