Hi, this is Stephanie Maas, partner with Thinking Ahead Search Firm.
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And today I want to talk to you about having a strong finish to the year.
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Some of the best advice I had ever been given by a manager was many, many, many years ago.
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And we were literally talking about having a strong push to the end of the year to hit some of my goals.
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And what was so interesting about the conversation in the council was at the time, it was very specific to some goals that I had set that were candidly in reach.
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But what I realized after the fact, it was just really good counsel for regardless of where I'm at in relation to my goals, that counsel and advice set me up for the right attitude to have during some time off.
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Over the holidays and the right mindset to come back at the beginning of the year and really have a great start.
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So I'll share some of that with you.
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First and foremost, as we go into this time of the year, having a strong finish, it's giving it everything you've got.
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And it doesn't necessarily have to mean that you are a slug all year and now you turn into a race horse per se.
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But one of the things you should definitely do is count up how many business days.
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You have left between now and the end of the year.
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And regardless of the number, make sure every single one of those days counts.
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Give every single one of those days 110%.
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Second thing you should do is you absolutely should look at where you're at in relation to the goals that you set for the year.
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If you're not looking at those on a weekly basis, you're probably doing yourself a disservice anyway.
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But if you haven't looked at them recently, make sure you pull them out.
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There is an amazing correlation between setting goals and then seeing them every single day.
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And an exercise to go along with that would be in the morning on your way into work, And at night on your way out, that's when you should go to what I like to call fantasy island.
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That should be your dream time.
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Envision yourself hitting your goals.
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See yourself achieving the things that you set out to achieve.
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Imagine what it would feel like if it's a, you're in a production, what would it feel like to hit your number?
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What does that mean for your bonus?
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You should know these things.
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What would you do with the money?
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How would you feel sitting around?
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Sipping an adult beverage with your feet up on the coffee table in front of the fire over the holidays, knowing that you hit your goals.
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You did everything that you needed to do to provide for your family that year.
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Think about those things.
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Envision them.
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That's what you should be doing on your way to work and on your way home.
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And lastly, get creative, especially this time of the year.
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Oftentimes things do tend to slow down a little bit, and it's a great time to get creative.
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Go back and look at your activity from.
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Throughout the year, look for the low hanging fruit, call back those clients that said, Hey, you know what?
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We're really not ready to do a deal yet.
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Call me in six months.
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Has it been six months?
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Maybe it's only been four months, but you know what?
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It's a great time just to reach out and say, Hey, I know you said six months, but I just thought I'd call you.
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I know it's only been four months, but is anything new or different?
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Has anything changed?
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And most importantly, have fun.
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When you can do these things, what is so great is you'll leave it all on the table.
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You will know you've left it all on the table.
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So regardless of the outcome, you won't, you can't help but feel good about your effort.
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And that'll really give you the confidence and enthusiasm to come back and start all over again with the new year.
