There never seems to be enough time in any given day to get to all of your to-do items. The day begins and you’re off to a good start, and then, before you know it, times up. You stop and wonder, “Where did the day go?” Now we’re at the end of another year and you might be wondering where the whole year went and how it went by so quickly. It’s safe to say that people find themselves here because they don’t know how they relate to time, don’t plan for what they want to accomplish, or the plan is in their head, they fall prey to procrastination and interruptions and have no clue as to where their time is going. The scary thing about this is that it can be a pattern, and it probably is if you’re sitting here at the end of the year wondering where it all went. It’s not too late to get a handle on it all and make some progress toward some of the things on your plate right now and finish the year powerfully.
Look at the things that you’d like to accomplish before the end of the year and prioritize them. Once you’ve determined the priority of each item, you can move forward. Do you have time to get to all of the things before year’s end? If not, determine what you can complete in the time that’s left and schedule time to work on those pieces of the project between now and the end of the year then schedule time to finish the remaining pieces in early January. Get the blocks of time scheduled in your calendar now and commit to them.
The next step to finishing your year strong is to think about next year before it gets here. Start with a list of things you want to accomplish and turn them into goals. Once you’ve got S.M.A.R.T. goals, you can create your road map to accomplishing them and know exactly how you’re going to get there and when you’re working on each. The year might fly by, but you’ll be getting things done instead of wondering where all that time went and why you have nothing to show for it.
As you look forward to the next year, think about what you have to do differently. What did you do this year that just didn’t work? What do you want to do differently? Be conscious of how you’re relating to time, pull together systems and tools to support you, create a plan and above all, look at where your time is going. Be sure that you’re investing it, not simply spending it. Give your time to things that are worthy, things related to your values and goals and let the rest go. Doing so will keep you productive and getting to the end of the year with things accomplished, ready to celebrate and plan for the year ahead.