This exercise helps you evaluate what’s working, what’s not, and what needs to begin to support forward momentum.
For Solopreneurs:
Perfect for moments of feeling stuck or when you are navigating a transition. Use this to realign your efforts, especially if you're wearing all the hats and need to re-prioritize. This is also great to run through in times of evolution, like if you feel like you are holding attachment to offers that no longer support your ecosystem.
For Teams:
A powerful reflection and alignment tool—great for post-project reviews, quarterly planning, or recalibrating roles and responsibilities. Encourages open dialogue without defensiveness.
20–45 minutes
Solo: 20 minutes with reflection time.
Team: 30–45 minutes with discussion.
Appropriate for All Levels
No prior strategy work needed. Accessible for reflection or decision-making across business stages.
If running with a team, they should be used to giving and receiving honest feedback
Materials:
- Pen & Paper
- Sticky Notes
Optional: use a whiteboard or shared doc or Canva Template below for collaboration
Before jumping into this exercise, it helps to zoom in. "Life" or "business" as a whole is often too big to get clear, actionable takeaways. This tool works best when you're focused on a specific area, season, or outcome you want to improve.
👉 Ask yourself:
Where am I feeling stuck or stretched?
What area feels noisy, cluttered, or off-track?
Where do I feel momentum but want to expand it?
Choose one primary focus from the following common categories (or makeup your own):
- Client Experience (or a part of the journey)
- Marketing & Visibility
- Systems & Admin
- Leadership & Delegation (for teams)
- Personal Workflow / Time
- A Specific Offer, Service or Product
- Daily or Weekly Tasks
- Energy & Boundaries
- Finances, Budget and Planning
Think about where you are in a certain timeline or define the pivot moment in some way.
If you’re doing this quarterly, you might start with:
“For Q2, I want to refine how I show up and communicate online.”
If you're in a pivot:
“I’m stepping into a new offer and need to realign how I spend my time.”
🔍 Write Your Focus Statement (5min)
Before you begin, get clear on where you're seeking clarity. This exercise works best when you zoom in on one area of your life or business. Use the framing guidelines above to narrow down what you will be evaluating and then use that to create a focus statement.
Complete this sentence to guide your reflection:
“I’m using this activation to evaluate how I’m approaching [insert area] so I can make more aligned, intentional decisions moving forward.”
Examples:
- “...how I’m spending my time day-to-day”
- “...how I’m marketing my offers online”
- “...my client communication and boundaries”
- “...the systems I use to run my business”
- “...how I’m leading my team through this next phase”
Write down your focus statement.
1️⃣ What to Stop (5min)
What’s draining your energy, creating friction, or no longer aligned with your goals? This category is to identify things that are no longer working for you going forward.
👉 Ask:
What feels heavy, ineffective, or outdated?
What am I doing out of obligation or habit?
What would I not choose again if starting from scratch?
Write 3–5 things that are no longer serving your chosen focus area.
If using the template, put each item on it’s own sticky note. This will make them easy to sort later if you choose to do that.
2️⃣ What to Start (5min)
What new actions, systems, or habits could move the needle? This category is to identify things you want to implement or bring into your rituals or ecosystem that haven’t existed before. These could come from a want OR a need.
👉 Ask:
What do I know would help but haven’t made time for?
What are others doing that I’m curious about testing?
What small habit or shift would create more ease or momentum?
Write 3–5 things you’re ready to begin (even if messy or imperfect).
3️⃣ What to Continue (5min)
What’s working well that you want to double down on or do more consistently? This category is for defining the things that make you feel like a well-oiled machine or a non-negotiable in your business right now.
👉 Ask:
What’s giving me traction, results, or joy?
What’s felt easy or in flow?
What routines or practices keep me grounded and effective?
Note 3–5 practices or approaches to reinforce.
Reflection without action keeps you spinning.
These are some wrap-up and integration options for you to get more out of this exercise. Once you’ve completed your Stop, Start, Continue list, choose one of the following wrap-up options to translate insight into impact:
Option 1: Dot Vote Your Priorities
Especially useful for teams—or for solo clarity when there’s too much on your plate.
➡️ Place 1–3 "dots" (digital or physical) next to the items that feel most important right now.
Focus on:
- Energy impact vs. level of urgency
- Return on Investment (ROI) — time, money, momentum, etc.
- Ease of execution
Top-voted items become your top priorities for the next 30–90 days.
Option 2: Create Action Items
Turn each insight into a task-list. Define what it would take to accomplish each item.
➡️ Use this format:
- Stop → What boundaries need to be set or what can be removed?
- Start → What resources or support are needed to begin?
- Continue → What could be scheduled or automated or systematized?
Add these to your project planner, task list, or weekly agenda.
Option 3: Write “One Next Step”
If everything feels too big to act on right now, just start small.
➡️ Fill in the blank: “One next step I can take this week is to [action].”
Examples:
- “...follow up with a VA to delegate inbox management.”
- “...cancel a tool I’m no longer using.”
- “...schedule 1 hour to outline my next offer.”
Momentum starts with one move.