Goals and mindset go hand-in-hand

Have you done everything you wanted to do this year?

Year-end is closer than you realize. September will soon turn to October, then suddenly, Christmas music will play, and we’ll be ringing in a New Year. The fourth quarter almost vanishes into thin air when you sprinkle in a few holidays and time spent shopping or preparing for parties.

October through December can be frustrating for most business professionals trying to reach end-of-the-year goals. Shorter days and hustle of activity can mean less time to get done what you set out to accomplish. Time seems to pass too quickly, and it can leave to-do lists and goals in the dust without proper attention and actions focused on them.

You don’t have to panic. We are not counting down the ball in Times Square just yet. Although it will soon be 2022, there is still time to achieve what you want to get done this year. You can spend the next several weeks staying focused and accomplishing what you want. There is hope even if you fell behind on your 2021 goals or you didn’t set any to begin with. It doesn’t even have to take up most of your time and energy. Small steps and purposeful action will show results.

“Be intentional,” says David Curran, a sales coach and the director of business development for Sandler Training of Oklahoma. “Top performers focus on their target and invest time, energy, and resources to hit it.” David shared about one company that put in a little structure and focus on their goals and achieved more than a million dollars because of it. “[They] sharpened up the processes and had fun doing it.”

Having the right mindset helps as well. Stacy Eads, an award-winning business coach, is reminded of the famous proverb that says, “The best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago. The second best time is now.” She says, “It is never too late to start forward momentum.” No matter what quarter, month, or week it is, just start today. Eads recommends breaking down goals into weekly steps and be sure to know the 3 W’s: who needs to do what by when. This type of planning can help build a timeline that accounts for vacations and time off around the holidays.

You don’t have to let feelings of overwhelm or deadlines keep you from accomplishing anything in 2021. A very conservative count allows for 55 working days in Q4 even when you account for holidays. You can reach incredible goals within 55 days with just one hour of focus each day. That’s almost a week and a half of work if you just spend an hour a day concentrating on what you want to get done.

Set a plan and work to execute is the best thing you can do. Time will pass quickly, but there is plenty of opportunities to get done what you want. Gaining even just a little momentum can make the last months of 2021 meaningful and help prime your success in 2022.