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How to Finish the Year Strong

Can you believe there are only 24 days left in the year? Most people by now are either in the holiday mentality, where all goals, diets and anything else they may have valued goes right out the window. The other half are waiting until that coveted January 1 to start making changes and tackle big goals. Which seems kinda arbitrary considering less than 8% of people stick to their New Year’s resolutions.

As much as I love the feeling of a new year, I also love the feeling of closing out a chapter strong. We have two choices. Either sprint to the finish line or lay down and take a nice long nap. You guys know I’ll be sprinting to the finish line, and I hope you’ll run alongside me. These last 24 days hold your chance to tackle those goals you haven’t yet achieved. At the very least, take a step in the right direction. In today’s episode of the Bold Business Podcast, I’m talking about how to finish the year strong.

So I ask you, how are YOU going to spend these last precious 24 days of the year? Here are three things you can focus on for the rest of 2021.

If you missed our episode on gratitude, be sure to hit play on that one too. It’s full of ways to turn all your stressed-out days into thankful, peaceful days.

Pick a Small Goal to Accomplish

The first thing I want you to do is review your goals that you may have written down for the year of 2021. Is there something you wanted to do but put off?

Maybe you wanted to learn how to make those gorgeously decorated sugar cookies we see on Pinterest. Or maybe you wanted to read a specific book. Or maybe your goal was to pay off your credit card or finally start that course you purchased. Whatever it is, I want you to think about how you might be able to complete that task or at least work towards it.

One of my goals was to read a book a month throughout the year. I definitely didn’t do that. So to help thrive in my last 24 days, I downloaded the audio version of three books, one for each week. I plan to listen to them while I’m doing things like cooking dinner, taking a shower, getting ready in the mornings, folding the laundry – you get the picture. There may not be time to sit down and read a physical book, but I can certainly listen to them! I also included a few good books that I’m planning to read in the new year on my Christmas list. It may seem small, but it’s helping me be able to cross off that I read more in 2021. It’s also getting me into the habit before the New Year to read, and will only set me up for success.

Let Something Go

As the great Queen Elsah says, we must “let it go!” The second thing to help us finish the year strong is to take inventory of things that aren’t serving us well. Then, let them go. Buh-bye! This could be a habit like mindlessly scrolling social media for an hour a day. Or it could be letting go of a difficult client that you dread working with. Or maybe it’s giving up junk food, caffeine or alcohol. You know what the right thing for you is going to be.

There are a few things I’ve been holding off on due to fear, and I’m going to push through and just go for it. This podcast is a great example of something I had a goal of launching this year. I finally just made the time, let go of the fear and went for it, and I’m so glad I did because truthfully it’s been so fun!

Do Something that Brings You Joy

The final thing to help you finish the year strong is to do something that brings you joy, purely because it’s fun. As an entrepreneur and a mom, it can be so easy to get caught up in mom guilt. There’s always these thoughts of we should be cleaning the house, picking up those toys, unloading the dishwasher or answering that email.

And while I am the queen of productivity and often struggle to do “nothing”, I also recognize how valuable it is to do something just purely because it’s fun. For me, this might be watching one of those cheesy Hallmark Christmas movies or taking my son to the park and leaving my phone behind.

Write it on the calendar and make it a priority. Silence your Slack, your email or anything else that dings and truly take time to do something fun. I promise, even just a few hours sprinkled in throughout each week will not only do wonders for your mental health, but it also helps get all the creative juices flowing. That way you’ll feel refreshed, alive and ready to tackle the new year with a vengeance. 

To recap, we are treating these last 24 days of the year like the 15 minutes before guests arrive at your house. You know what I’m talking about. The one where you’re super mom that throws her cape on and miraculously cleans the entire house, changes clothes, slaps on makeup and manages to make sure the kids look cute all in record-breaking time. Yep, that’s the vibe we are going for this last stretch of the year. I am so excited to round out 2021 with a little extra pep in my step, and I hope you are too!