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Finishing The Year Strong
“It’s not where you start — It’s where you finish that counts.”
~ Zig Ziglar
I don’t know about you but it’s around this time of year that I start to get excited about the promise that the next year holds. It would be oh so easy for me to write this year off already, but I know that I need to finish this year strong if there’s any chance of starting the next one feeling prepared. In this piece, I detail everything I’m doing to begin my wrap up of the year and lay the foundations for a really positive new year.
1. Review my 2023 business plan
The first thing I do around this time of year is go back to the business plan I made at the end of last year. I know before I even go there that there will be many things I haven’t done but I like to review the goals I originally set and assess where I am in relation to them.
There are always things that are underway but not yet complete and others that never even got started, it’s almost like my brain forgot about them as soon as the proverbial ink had dried on the paper. And that’s okay. Revisiting my plan helps me to decide what I’m going to focus on for the rest of the year.
2. Let go of things
I don’t hesitate to tweak my plan throughout the year and course correct as I go. And the final months of the year are no exception. In fact it’s probably when I am the most ruthless. I know that in order to have a positive and productive final quarter, I need to focus and streamline how I spend my time. With holidays thrown in, the last few months of the year always go by faster than expected.
I’m also really mindful not to beat myself up for what I haven’t achieved. I know only too well that no good comes from this. Instead, I consider what I put on my initial plan that no longer feels like a priority and I simply cross it off the list.
The last thing I want as I enter into quarter 4 is to have a list of things I haven’t done nor will I get done before year end. If there are things I wanted to do but didn’t, I do spend time trying to figure out what got in the way. Was it a mindset or a time issue or something else? If I’m going to carry something forward into the next year, I like to ask myself what I will do to ensure success the next time…
