[00:00:00] Welcome back to another episode of Success in Mind. We are beginning to wind down 2023, and you're going to be hearing a lot of talk about goals. Have you accomplished your 2023 goals? Are you on track? What can you accomplish before the end of the year? And you're also going to be hearing people talking about it's okay to take your foot off the gas, to relax, to take some time off.
And we're going to talk about maybe another way to be looking at this time of year. Because you don't have to choose to go all in and push yourself to complete all your goals by the end of this year. And you also don't need to completely slack off either. So let's talk about how I recommend you finish off this year strong.
So you're going to be hearing both of these messages from people. And there's those who will be telling you, you know, you only have 30 days left, 40 days [00:01:00] left, whatever it is, until the end of the year to complete your goals. And the truth of that is that, well, that's not quite accurate because are you actually going to work?
Like, I mean, today it's November 28th and Let's just, for the sake of ease, let's just round it out to December 1st. Let's say you're listening to this episode on December 1st, which would mean that you have 31 days left. You don't actually have 31 days left because over the month of December, you're going to have, most likely, you're going to have holiday parties to go to, family events, uh, lunches with friends to go to, and if you are like most people and most entrepreneurs, you're going to want to take a bit of time off at the end of the year to relax and unwind.
So you really don't have 30 days. Assuming that we're talking from December 1st on, you don't have 30 days. Uh, you don't have 32 days or 33, whatever it is that you're listening to this. You don't actually have that amount of time. So let's get [00:02:00] realistic about our goals for the rest of this year. Now, I think it's a good idea to reflect over the past year and look at what did I say I was going to do?
What were my initial goals this year? Where am I now in regards to achieving them? And this is not for the sake of beating yourself up or being hard on yourself, but just about taking a realistic look at this is what I set out to do this year, this is where I am now, and What do I need to adjust? Do I still have these same goals?
Am I close to achieving them? Have I already achieved them? Let's just start by taking a look at what did you say you're going to do and where are you now? Just to get a full picture of what's happening. Now, once we have that information and we know what it is you wanted to do, what it is you did do, and where are you now in regards to achieving it, we can start re evaluating each of those goals.
Are they still important to you? So if we're looking at the ones that are [00:03:00] incomplete, are they still important? Is it something that you want to move ahead into 2024? Maybe you need to adjust the goal. Maybe you don't want to do it anymore. And you're like, you know what? I don't know. I don't know what January, 2023, Teri was thinking, but December, 2023, Teri is thinking, uh, that was completely off base and not anything near what I actually want.
So we're just going to take it off the list. So give yourself some time to reevaluate. And if you haven't accomplished your goals, you don't have to push to the end of the year to get them done. Like I just said, there aren't that many days left of where you're actually going to be productive and working.
Most likely. And don't feel like you have to work through the holidays either. You know, there are some people who will say, you're an entrepreneur. You've got to hustle hard. You don't get to take days off. You don't get Christmas off, New Year's, forget about it. You need to be working 24 [00:04:00] seven every single day of the year.
And that's not sustainable. That's not a great way to build a business. That's not great for your body, for your health or for your relationships. So we want to look at this in regards to whole life success. It is okay to take time off. It's okay to spend time with your family. It's okay to say, forget work today.
I'm going to watch some movies with my kids or with my husband, my spouse. I'm gonna watch some Christmas movies and I'm gonna eat some cookies and enjoy my life. That's okay. What's not okay is if that were to become your every day. Now, I hate the word balance in business because if you've been listening to me for a while, you know that I don't believe in work like that.
Balance. Work life balance. Work life... Oh my god, I can't even say it. Work... That's how much I hate it. Work life balance is not real. It's not attainable. Because at any given time, your business or your life is going to be demanding more of you. So this is really [00:05:00] about a work life integration. How can you manage the two?
How can you manage all areas of your life? In a way that's sustainable and healthy and productive for you, because there will be times where you're going to take your foot off that gas pedal and you might be coasting along in your business for a bit because you need to focus on your relationships or it's family time or your health demands something of you.
So as we're looking towards the end of the year, it is okay to reprioritize, to change up your schedule. Maybe for the next month, you only want to work four days a week. Maybe you're only going to work the first three weeks of December and take the rest off or however that lands for you. And that's okay.
Here's how I look at it. And you don't have to do what I do, but I'm going to share with you how I approach the end of the year. I spend some time reevaluating my goals. I actually do this in September. I start a reevaluation process. What were my goals? Where am I in regards to achieving them? [00:06:00] And in fact, that's something I look at each quarter, but I spend a little more time in September as we're moving into, you know, probably mid late September as we start moving into the final quarter.
Where did I want to be? Where am I? And I start my goal setting going into the final quarter of the year. So when I get to this point, I can look ahead at saying, okay, so what am I prioritizing for the last month of the year? Where's my focus? What are my priorities? And then I lean into those. Not 100%. I don't go full force 100 percent onto anything, but I lean into it a bit.
Instead of taking my foot off the gas pedal, I just press into it a little bit more. Because I want to take the last part of the month off completely. And when I take it off, I take it off. I shut everything down. I'm not responding to emails. I'm not answering business calls. If, if you are not texting me something that's fun, light, enjoyable, I'm not responding.[00:07:00]
Because I take that time to recharge for me. Plus it's my birthday at the end of December, so. You know, I also, it's not just the end of the year for me, it's also the end of my personal year, and so I want to take time to reflect and enjoy life and fully rest, recharge, and recuperate. But I'll set myself up for success by leaning into those bigger priority goals for the last month so that when January 2nd comes, I'm ready to hit the ground running.
So I will work just a little bit harder, not crazy hard, not like burning myself out going into the new year hard, but just enough, just a little, just a little bit more so that I can fully take time off. And then hit the ground running in January, you know, a mistake that I see people make is they relax too much.
So they, they stop working pretty much December 1st, they're done. They're full on [00:08:00] holiday mode. And I'm not saying you can't do that. By the way, you can do it if you prepare for it. So you can take off whatever you want. You, you set the rules as a business owner. Um, but it's smart to prepare for those times off.
So if you, if you feel like I'm not going to work at all in December, then look at, do you have the strategies and the systems in place that will allow your business to still sustain itself over the month? So that when you come back in January, you're not working to pick up speed and momentum again. You can just slip right into work mode, hit the ground running and take off easily.
I feel like that's three metaphors in one, but you get what I'm saying. You get what I'm saying. An object in motion will stay in motion and an object at rest is hard to get moving. Basic physics. We all learned this in high school. Basic physics, people. So you need to, well, you don't need [00:09:00] to, but if you want to have a successful January, set yourself up now.
Look at what am I going to do in January? What are the offers I'm going to be putting out? So if you have offers, if you have promotions that you're So if you're preparing for, for January, start laying those seeds now, do the groundwork now, get all your materials lined up so that in January, you're not starting and, you know, going from sleepy party family time mode to back into work mode.
Do you get what I'm saying? So that's how I do it. I think as a business owner, really, you should have the freedom of time and money to be able to do what you want and spend your time however you want. But it's smart and strategic to plan for those times off so that you're not, um, You're not wasting that time and also you don't want to be taking your time off and worrying the whole time about, [00:10:00] Oh my God, I have no clients to come back to in January.
My calendar is empty, I have no consultations, my pipeline is empty, my funnel is empty, I have nothing on the go and how am I going to make money in January because I haven't been doing anything to generate income in December. So set yourself up to take a break successfully so that you're not worrying about it the whole time, but you can actually take time off and enjoy your life fully without the stress or the worries of coming back to an empty calendar and possibly even an empty bank account.
So do this a smart way. You don't have to work every day. You don't have to take every single day off. You do what works for you. What works for me is I will take off generally the 20th to the 21st off until the 2nd of January, but then the 2nd of January, because I am so rested, I am ready to work and. My clients get the best out of me that week because I am so full of ideas and [00:11:00] inspiration and It's like a fire hose at that point because I can't contain it So my clients actually get the best work out of me Which is a little hint that if you're thinking about coaching with me That's a great time to start with me because you will get the absolute best of me.
Um, not saying I don't always do my best. I always do my best and give my best to my clients, but that week is like fire. That month is fire. So, you know, I'm just saying, I'm just saying if you're thinking about working with me, that's, that's a good time to start. Um, plus my calendar is full till the end of the year.
So I'm not accepting any more clients until January anyway. Now, when you hear those messages, or you hear people talking about how you have to push to accomplish your goals, you got to get it done, you got to get it done. December 31st is an arbitrary date. It doesn't have to be the end date of your goal.
So if you don't get there, if you don't accomplish the goal, [00:12:00] if you don't write the book by January 1st, if you don't launch that podcast, if you don't hit your revenue goals, nothing is going to happen. It's not like you get cut off and suddenly you no longer have a business and you like, it's no one's going to swoop down and say, You've lost your permission to do business.
You lost your business license. Like the city is not taking your license away. You can't, you're not going to lose your business, especially for you solopreneurs out there, service based businesses. If you're not a brick and mortar, you know, There's, it's pretty arbitrary, and I don't want you to think that in saying that, I'm saying that your goals are not important.
Your goals are very important, but not to the detriment of your personal health, to your relationships, your mental well being. You're not going to have a business if you start neglecting your health, if you start neglecting you. [00:13:00] So spend some time, re evaluate your goals, re prioritize them, look at what really needs to be done.
Look at what you actually want to get done. before the end of the year and what's reasonable to accomplish. Often we, we expect so much of ourselves and we grossly overestimate what we can accomplish in a short period of time. And we severely underestimate what we can accomplish in a longer period of time.
It's okay to take a little more time to accomplish your goals. You know, what's, what's not okay is to never. My condolences we're trying to address the root of all of this. We believe that we are connected and we can communicate and help more people. We are here to help you, change their lives. We are here to end the poverty.
We are here to help you so you can support your family and to engage in goodwill. We are here to help you push through and challenge infamous companymy past is not your enemy. Actually I hate the way I talk, but I love the way they talk. they say I am gonna do and don't want to do.
And we can get you set up for January and make sure [00:14:00] that you start off the year on the right foot. Thanks for listening today. Hope you enjoyed this episode. If you have any questions, feel free to reach out to me anytime. And the best place to find me is on Instagram at the Teri Holland. And that's Teri with one R and an I hope you have a fantastic day.
I look forward to being back with you again next week and hope you have a great week. Bye for now.