How to Finish Your Year on a High
The end of the year is officially upon us.
For a lot of us that means frantic shopping trips and trying to fit lots of things into small spaces of time. Christmas parties, lunches, school concerts and assemblies. Winding up projects so we can start the new year with a clean slate and a fresh start.
At this time of year it can be really easy to say yes when we mean no and end the year exhausted and overwhelmed.
How about this year we try something different?
How about this year we give ourselves more space and time to rest, relax and calmly complete our work?
Let’s go into this holiday season feeling calm, relaxed and ahead of the curve. Here are my top 3 tips that you can implement right now to ensure you finish your year on a high.
Tip 1: Review Your Priorities.
It’s important to be really clear about what exactly you want to achieve before the year comes to an end.
Revisit your goals for this calendar year. Are there any you haven’t quite met? If so, what do you need to do to achieve them? Do a brain dump of all the actions you still need to take and make these a priority. Schedule them into your calendar and get them done!
Be realistic, if there are any goals that you have no hope of meeting before the Christmas holidays, accept that and let them go. Or reschedule them to give yourself an early win in the new year!
Tip 2: Add More Space
Last minute things are going to come up, that’s a given. If for no other reason than that others aren’t as organised as you. If you want the freedom to be able to say yes to that last minute gathering without then working until midnight so you don’t fall behind, add some buffer time to your calendar.
Buffer time is space you have allocated in your calendar specifically to accommodate last minute changes to your schedule. It’s for times when you need to shift your two hour work block so you can attend your kid’s award ceremony (that you just found out about this morning) or last minute doctor’s appointment so you can stay on track and catch your breath.
I normally recommend allocating one to two hours per week under normal circumstances, but at this time of year I suggest doubling it (at least).
The beautiful thing about buffer time is if you find you don’t need it that week – you can either use it to get a jump on the following week’s work or reward yourself with some well deserved time off!
Tip 3: Celebrate Your Wins
It can be really easy to get caught up in the mad dash for the finish line, trying to tick as many projects off your list as possible so we’ll feel accomplished by the time December 31st rolls around.
How about taking some time now to stop and look back at what you’ve achieved so far this year.
What goals have you met? What challenges have you overcome? What opportunities have you embraced? How often did you drag yourself out of bed to sit in front of your computer when even that felt like an impossible task?
We often look forward and forget to look back. Even if you don’t get to tick everything off your to-do list before the end of the year – look at what you’ve accomplished so far and give yourself an opportunity to celebrate.
Bonus Tip: Have Fun!
It is the silly season after all – and some of us take ourselves way too seriously (yours truly included).
Have fun, take time to do things you enjoy with people you love and have an amazing Christmas and New Year!
