Today is October 2 – it’s a new week and a new month, and the beginning of the last quarter of the year. This is the time to get going on those goals that you may have not completed this year; it’s also a good time to set new ones. After all, we’re facing a new year after these last three months so with the way that time is flying, it will be here sooner than you might be ready for.
Planning now is the way to finish out the new year so that you are prepared for what is coming up next. I have been in planning mode and one of those tasks on my item is back to blogging daily. I am completing finishing programs together and streamlining marketing efforts – all of these are preparing me for my big steps that I have planned for 2013.
Here are some steps to help you finish out this year successfully; they can help you to recognize what you have and have not gotten done regarding your goals and put you in the mode to finally get them done:
- Schedule time for you to do some planning – this is not a process you want to rush through. It’s ok if you have to break it up but you want to dedicate time and focus on your future
- Take out paper and write down the goals that you had wanted to accomplish this year; list if you had completed them, what it took to get there; list the ones you did not and the reasons you did not; perhaps you had a goal that you did not start with but the opportunity did and you went after it. You want to have the ‘big picture’ of where you are now.
- Cross off the remaining goals that you have left that are not a passion for you or that don’t serve you. You don’t want to keep working on goals that don’t as they will just frustrate you. You want to keep you focus on goals that excite you.
- For each of the remaining – or new – goals, write each on a separate piece of paper and then list all the benefits of getting the goal (your “why”) and then all of the steps you think need to take to make it happen. You might want to work backwards, as if you already had accomplished that goal.
- Take out your calendar and schedule time for the ‘to-do’s’, with a start and completion date.
- Keep this calendar handy so you can see it; use a checklist or some type of feedback system to keep you motivated when you complete each task and have a reward system in place.
Taking time in your day to plan out your activities will give more mastery to your life and help you feel more in control of how you spend your days. Planning and then doing will help you to finish out the year successfully and will keep your momentum going into 2013!
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