Did you turn over the calendar yesterday and suddenly panic that it’s only 3 months until the end of the year? Or maybe you’ve seen Advent Calendars in the shops and realised that Christmas is just around the corner.
This close to the end of the year, it’s easy to panic and think there’s no time to get much finished, let alone start something new.
But – with a bit of focus – there’s still plenty of time to get things done.
Start with a quick look back
Before planning anything, take a look at what has happened so far. Note the things you’ve made progress on and what hasn’t gone so well. Look for things you’ve started but not yet finished, and for things you had on your to-do list that you haven’t got round to yet.
This will help you think about what to do next.
Choose your priorities
It’s easy to make a long list of everything you’d like to achieve before the end of the year. But with only three months left, there’s not time for everything.
So write a long list to start with, but then choose two or three priorities. These are things you can either finish before the year’s end or make a good start on, ready to pick up after the holiday season.
Try not to make it all about work. Choose a priority that focuses on yourself and your wellbeing too, whether that’s a health goal or practising a new hobby.
Make one of them a smaller project that you can definitely finish before the year’s end. That gives you a focus and means you end the year on a successful note.
Look at what’s already in the calendar
It’s important to remember that the last three months of the year tend to be busy.
There will be annual leave, school holidays, end-of-year events, reporting deadlines and the unexpected things that inevitably appear. That means a good chunk of your calendar might already be blocked out.
If you know certain weeks will be particularly busy or quiet, take that into account when you plan.
There’s little point setting yourself a packed schedule for a week when half the team is away, or leaving an important task until the final week of the year.
Once you’ve checked your calendar, break your goals down into smaller tasks or chunks that you can fit into the spaces you have.
Get a head start on January
This last quarter is also a great time to do a bit of planning and get ahead of the new year. You don’t need to have your whole 2027 plan worked out before Christmas, but there may be a few things worth thinking about.
That might be some key dates coming up early in the year, or it might be a longer-term plan to look for a new job, embark on a health journey or start a course.
A little bit of planning now helps you to come back in January with a clearer idea of where to pick things up.
Three questions to finish with
Once you’ve looked back and checked what’s ahead, ask yourself:
What do I want to finish?
What needs to be completed before the end of the year?
What do I want to make progress on?
What may not be finished in three months, but is worth moving forward?
What can wait?
What would be useful to do, but doesn’t need to happen before December?
A little planning now can make the final quarter more manageable and give you a clearer starting point when January arrives.