Quarterly check-in
For: Anyone running a quarterly review on themselves or with their team
Three months goes fast. A 12-question quarterly check-in on what landed, where energy is, whether direction is still right, and what to do next.
- 12 questions
- 4 dimensions
- ~4-5 min
- Self · Peer · Both
Quarterly check-ins live or die on whether they ask the four right questions in the right order: what actually got delivered, where energy is now (because cumulative energy depletion is the leading indicator nobody tracks), whether the direction is still the right direction, and what specifically changes in the next quarter. Most quarterly reviews skip one of those — usually energy or direction — and become OKR-grading exercises that miss the human signal entirely. This template runs all four dimensions in 12 questions. Use it solo, or send to peers / your manager / direct reports for the cross-view.
How it works
Run it on yourself in the last week of the quarter — ideally before any formal review meetings, so the answers are honest. If you want a 360 view, send it to people who watched your quarter: your manager, peers on shared work, direct reports. The most useful gap is usually in the direction-check section — where outside observers often see momentum-not-fit before the operator does.
What's inside — 12 questions across 4 dimensions
What landed this quarter
output and outcomes
Energy & sustainability
pace, recovery, motivation
Direction check
is this still the right path?
Next quarter
focus, priorities, what changes
The questions, in full
Every question is included below. You answer them yourself first, then send the same set to the people who've seen you work.
What landed this quarter
- Q1Rating (1-5)
I delivered what I committed to this quarter — or I know exactly why I didn't and what got in the way.
- Q2Multiple choice
Compared to my quarterly goals, the actual output was...
- — Ahead of plan
- — On plan — mostly delivered
- — Slightly behind, but for explainable reasons
- — Significantly behind
- — The goals shifted mid-quarter so it's hard to compare
- Q3Open answer
What's one thing you finished this quarter that you're genuinely proud of — and one thing you let slip that you wish you hadn't?
Energy & sustainability
- Q4Rating (1-5)
I ended this quarter with roughly the same energy I started it with — not running on fumes.
- Q5Rating (1-5)
I'm engaged with the work — it still matters to me, not just on autopilot.
- Q6Rating (1-5)
I had real recovery this quarter — actual time off, evenings and weekends that weren't stolen by work.
Direction check
- Q7Rating (1-5)
The work I'm doing is still the right work — not just a path I started and stayed on by inertia.
- Q8Rating (1-5)
If I were starting fresh today, I'd choose to spend the next quarter on roughly the same things.
- Q9Open answer
What's one thing in your work right now that you're staying with mostly out of momentum — not because it's still the right thing?
Next quarter
- Q10Rating (1-5)
I have 1-3 specific priorities for next quarter — not a long list of everything that's on my plate.
- Q11Multiple choice
Looking at next quarter, the biggest shift I want to make is...
- — Doing more of what worked this quarter
- — Cutting things that quietly drained me
- — Changing how I work — pace, focus, habits
- — Starting something new
- — Mostly steady — same focus, deeper execution
- Q12Open answer
What's one specific change you'll make at the start of next quarter — small enough that it'll actually happen?
The research behind these questions
Drawn from Andy Grove's High Output Management on the operating cadence of effective managers (Intel), John Doerr's Measure What Matters on focusing each quarter on a few outcomes, Gallup's Q12 engagement research on what drives sustained motivation, Annie Duke's Quit on path-evaluation and momentum bias, BJ Fogg's Tiny Habits research at Stanford on behavior change small enough to actually happen, and Tasha Eurich's Insight on reflective self-assessment. Each question targets a specific signal — output, energy, direction, or commitment — without conflating them.
References
- — Andy Grove — High Output Management (Intel)
- — John Doerr — Measure What Matters
- — Gallup — Q12 engagement research
- — Annie Duke — Quit
- — BJ Fogg — Tiny Habits (Stanford Behavior Design Lab)
- — Tasha Eurich — Insight
Ready to run this round on yourself?
Sign up, pick this template, answer it about yourself, and send the same questions to the people who've been in the room with you. The gap between your view and theirs is where the actual learning lives.