The First 100-Days, and What a 100 Days it Has Been

Today (April 9) is the 100th day of the year. The nation and the world are locked down and in a fierce battle with a pandemic. It is only natural to be distracted by world events and focused on how your family, friends, and business are being affected. But it is also an excellent time to reflect on where you are personally and professionally after these first 100 days.

Why 100 Days?

The term “first 100 days” was coined by President Franklin Roosevelt during a 1933 radio address. The president was laying out an aggressive plan to enact thirteen major laws during his first 100 days to offset what the depression was doing to America. Since then, the first 100 days of a presidential term has taken on symbolic significance, and the period is considered a benchmark to measure the early success of a president.[1]

Measuring Your Early Success

Even though it has been a challenging and unprecedented time in our world, the exercise of evaluating where you are, how you are doing, and where you are going after the first 100 days is especially valuable now. Adversity always teaches us things about ourselves. Adversity doesn’t make you who you are; it reveals who you are. Adversity always reveals opportunity. As Marcus Aurelius’ said, “What stands in the way becomes the way.”

Reflect and Redirect

Questions for First 100-Days Reflection:

1.      How is your progress towards your biggest goals for this year?

a.      What has worked?

b.      What has not worked?

c.      What can you do differently to make more significant progress moving forward?

2.      How are you doing in the area of personal development?

a.      What’s working?

b.      Where can you improve?

                                                    i.     Morning routine?

                                                   ii.     Evening routine?

                                                  iii.     Read more?

3.      How is your work/life integration coming along?

a.      What’s working?

b.      Where can you improve?

4.      How clear are you on priorities in your work and personal life right now?

a.      What would help you get clarity on your priorities?

5.      How is the management of your calendar and time been so far?

a.      Are you spending or investing time?

b.      How’s your E2E Ratio? (Education to Entertainment)

c.      What do you need to start, stop, or continue doing to improve your use of time?

6.      What have you learned about yourself during the global crisis?

7.      What should you change based on what you are learning?

a.      New goals for you?

b.      New goals for your family?

c.      New goals for your business?

8.      What new opportunities have presented themselves during the global crisis?

a.      What will you change to take advantage of the opportunities?

9.      How would you rate your daily habits, disciplines, and irreducible minimums?

a.      Do you need to develop irreducible minimums to ignite new habits?

10.   Are you taking good care of you?

a.      Physical fitness?

b.      Spiritual fitness?

c.      Mental fitness?

d.      Rest?

These are just ideas. Think for a moment of what else you could reflect on right now that would make the next 100 days an even more remarkable time than the last 100 days.

[1] From Wikipedia - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/First_100_days_of_Franklin_D._Roosevelt%27s_presidency