(inspired by Rachel Hollis’ Last 90 Days – Rise Podcast, episode 116 “How to change your life today”)
Don’t you just love this time of year? The weather is getting warmer, Sydney has moved to daylight savings time and you can just feel the long lazy Summer days ahead. It’s so tempting to sit back and relax because before you know it, the holidays will be upon us.
But is that a good idea? Three months is a full quarter of a year. That’s 12 weeks of solid work we can pack in, to set ourselves up for a great 2020!
I want to challenge you not to coast into the New Year. It’s easy to take the pressure off and forget what we have already achieved and that we’ve still got time to kick some more goals. Here’s my 3 step process on how to charge into the last quarter of the year with enthusiasm.
-
Review your goals for the year
Remember how excited you were at the beginning of this year? You set those challenging goals for yourself, but have you referred back to them at all during the year? It’s never too late to work towards achieving them. Have a think about what steps you can take in order to reach them.
Alternatively, are the goals you set still relevant? Perhaps you’ve taken a slightly different direction in your business and you need to revise them slightly? Perhaps you’ve already succeeded in what you had planned and now need to stretch yourself further!
-
Acknowledge and celebrate all you have achieved
For every goal that you set, acknowledge the work that you have put in to reaching them. What steps did you take? Even if you haven’t reached the goal yet, acknowledge all that you’ve done so far. Every action is a step forward. Make sure that you write it down. Seeing the list grow before your eyes is a magical thing.
If there were any goals that you set that no longer resonate with you, accept it and let it go. There is no point dwelling on them and feeling guilty for things that didn’t happen.
Lastly, look for the curve balls that life threw at you and acknowledge the impact that they had on you achieving or not achieving your goals. What were they, how did they affect you and if they came up again, would you handle them differently?
Take a moment to step back from the process at this point and congratulate yourself. No matter where you are and what you’ve done, you’ve made progress! (You may also at this point open a bottle of champagne or purchase your favourite chocolate. Go on. You deserve it.)
-
Prioritise your goals / action items for the last quarter
Now it’s time to choose which of your goals (whether old or new) is the priority for you right now. Which ones are going to give you the greatest satisfaction once you achieve them? Which ones are going to give you the greatest momentum going into 2020?
Push them to the top of the list.
Now write a list of steps or action items that you need to take to make those goals a reality. Even if you recognise that you may not achieve the goals as expected, any action is good action.
I’ve shared my October Goal Check In with you below to show you how looking back, looking down and the looking forward can energise you for the next three months. I hope this has inspired you to keep going until the end of the year and to not be tempted to wind down just yet.
October Goal Check In
| GOAL | STEPS TAKEN | PRIORITY OR LET GO? | STEPS TO TAKE |
| Perform market research to understand the needs and frustrations of health professionals | – Changed focus from health professionals to small business owners – Created survey in SurveyMonkey – Received 45 responses |
Let it go. Ideally would like 100 responses but Facebook group rules often rule out posting links to a survey | Continue to look back at responses for pain points and topic suggestions |
| Develop sales plan | – Reviewed packages and pricing | Change focus to optimising my website, reviewing my email welcome sequence and encouraging more people to book a free consult with me. | – Update pricing on website and FB page – Work with copywriter and web developer to integrate email marketing better with website |
| Create a daily schedule to better manage my time | DONE! | Achieved so can let this one go | Review schedule daily to make sure I’m on track |
| Develop a paid marketing strategy to scale my sales | – Have undertaken the Elevatory course which has taken me through sales, marketing, mindset and paid advertising – Have decided to outsource and spoken with someone who can run ads for me. |
Priority! | – Complete a brief for FB advertising manager – Determine copy and images to be used |
| WHAT GOT ADDED | I recognised that I didn’t have much room for joy or health, so I made it a priority to bring that into the year | ||
| Health | – Took son to new ENT and speech therapist – Starting seeing a Naturopath to help with energy levels and weight loss – Started seeing a PT to help me with my personal goals |
– Son’s specialists appointments are now done!! – Naturopath and PT will be part of my ongoing routine |
|
| House goals | Interior decorating and cleaning bring me great joy, so I have focussed on making the house work for us and to keep it clean | Priority | – Look again at getting a cleaner – Speak with builders about small jobs – Buy one magazine a month |