Tag: new year

Counting down to December 31

time wisely quote

We have just one month left!. And December often feels like the busiest month of the year. But there is still time to measure some progress on the goals you set for the year.

Hopefully you wrote some things down in January or at some point earlier this year. You said – “this is what I want this year to be about.”

You could look now and say – “well, I missed it” OR “sure, I got some of that done, but not nearly enough.”

But if you give up, you are missing the fact that there are still more than 30 days left. Maybe twenty or less if you factor in all the parties and holiday activities. That is still something!

Tips for last-minute progress

So here are my tips for a last-minute, last-ditch effort to make progress toward your annual goals:

  1. Look at them! If you don’t look back at them until you’re debriefing in January, you can’t gain any more ground.
  2. Which goal did you set that no longer seems important?  Did your priorities change mid-year?  Did other circumstances dictate that you should write one off? Cross that one off your list and focus on what’s really key to you.
  3. Is there anything that is almost finished, but just needs a little more push? Can you schedule time to finish that out?calendar
  4. Which one isn’t nearly done, but you could accomplish more than you have so far? What two actions would improve you from an F to a C? It may not be an A, but a C is certainly better.
  5. Which one is honestly a loss? There are plenty of goals that you can’t knock out in give or take 20 days. But take a few minutes to think about this. Why did you not make any progress? Is there anything standing in the way of progress in this area? Maybe you can do something to address the obstacles, even if you can’t push toward the goal.
  6. Write down a few things related to your goals that you can do to make progress. Block out time in your calendar to get them done. December 31 will feel better because you did!

Here are a few things on my list:

  1. I haven’t hired a Marketing Director yet, but I have some really good prospects. How can I use the 5 remaining weeks to lock a plan in for starting the new year strong?
  2. One of my goals for the year was a complete overhaul of our Employee Handbook. I already collected a list of things that need to be addressed. I can’t get a final version perfect, but blocking out one day would make it a lot better than it is right now. What about five hours next week, plus an hour a week or a section a week until it’s completely done? I can’t finish by January 1, but I’m pretty sure February 1 would do it.
  3. I have a few areas that I was hoping to make some progress on, but realized during the year that I don’t have the talent to cover this personally. How about if I try to allocate budget resources to hire for this one in the first quarter? I can’t do the job in the next five weeks, but if I wait until the new year to think about it, the budget won’t be there.

What can you do?

The point here is to identify – what can you do? Rome wasn’t built in a day. You eat an elephant one bite at a time. Every journey begins with a single step. I could go on. What can you do today? What can you do with an hour next week? What can you do if you take a minute now and carve out time on your calendar?

Perspective

imageHappy New Year! There’s something about a new year that lends itself to feelings of a fresh start. Dormant projects, unfinished from the past; unmet goals, missed due to lack of execution or insufficient plans; unfulfilled desires; these all seem to have the potential for new life as we enter a new year. What changes?

I think one thing that is different as a new year begins is our perspective: the way we look at our situation. A new year is a milestone and challenges that were large last year look less significant as we pass that new year mark. Last year, I had trouble, but “this year things will be different”.

How can you re-align your perspective to match God’s perspective on your situation-new year or otherwise? My devotional this morning took me to Matthew 6, which reminded me that being anxious about my situation does not help. If I seek God first and His kingdom, all of my other needs would be met; not through my own striving, but through His grace.

Take time as you start this year to get God’s perspective on your business, ministry, relationships, and personal well-being. That should shape your resolutions and planning for the New Year!

Thinking about a new year…

As we come to this time of year, most people are thinking about goals, resolutions, and plans for the coming year. This can be a challenging exercise, but can also be a helpful one to set you off on a good foot into the new year. Here’s a quick and simple way to think about the year ahead:

Take a sheet of paper. Fold it in half and then fold it in half again. Then unfold the paper to its full size.

At the top of each quadrant, write the following words: Career, Financial, Relationships, and Self.

Now within each quadrant, jot down notes about where you’d like to be 12 months from now. Career is an area many people plan goals for, but this is only a portion of your life. Take the time to think about all four of these categories. Relationships should include your spouse, children, other family, and friends. Self should include spiritual, health, personal development, and recreation.

Once you’ve done this, your best chance of achieving these will be if you establish plans for each. If one of your “Self” goals is to be 20 pounds lighter, for example, you’ll need to commit to a plan to achieve that goal.

Next week, I’ve got some thoughts on what section of your life you should focus on to increase your odds of success.

If you find this exercise useful, I’d love to get feedback. Just comment below. (You can repeat the exercise with any four categories if you want, but seeing it all on one piece of paper brings a unique perspective on your world, and one that I have found helpful.)