Hello Fall!
I know it’s still a bit warm, but I’m ready.
Bring on the changing colors, football, pumpkin spice lattes, Thanksgiving, and cozy-sweater season – I’m smitten.
When this time of year rolls around, it feels like a fresh start without the flurry and frenzy of the holiday season, deadlines, and the demanding year-end sprint. Honestly, it is such an under-rated time of year to turn the page, regroup, or refocus.
Whether you are a business owner who is feeling inspired, or a professional in need a jump start, take a look at what Fall offers you in terms of an opportunity to shift your mindset to that of new beginnings and short-term goal setting. By doing something as simple as approaching Fall with the same vigor as January, you give yourself the opportunity to not only finish the year strong, but get out ahead of bigger goals that can seem daunting at the start of the new year.Plus, we have already been conditioned since grade school to feel as though Fall is the start of a new year, so it is built into our DNA.
Here are 5 ways to help you make Fall your new January. And be sure to read through to the end…the last one is the most important.
- Fall is the start of a 90-day sprint to the holiday season. There is a significant amount of research which supports the notion that 90 days is the sweet spot for setting and achieving short term goals. It is a short enough time to remain focused and driven, but long enough to have meaningful accomplishment. If you do nothing else, you can pick one meaningful item you want to accomplish in the next 90 days and have a reasonable expectation that you can accomplish it. Maybe it is finishing strong on an annual goal,or it is setting an entirely new goal that is part of a longer goal. Don’t ever underestimate the value of breaking up larger goals into smaller chunks.
- Work backwards. What do you say every year in December or January that next year you will do? Do you say that you will have your year-end expense report done before the week before it is due? Maybe that you will get all of your invoices out on time or start year-end collections before December? Here’s a big one: Are you one of the many people who every year say, that “next” year you will plan your holiday gifting earlier in the Fall? What do you know that every year during the holiday season you are cramming to get done and what can you start now? Your December self will thank you.
- Dust off those 2024 goals. Personally, I find that this time of year is a bittersweet time to look back at what I said I wanted to accomplish in 2024. Bittersweet because there are things on the list that I am definitely proud of that I achieved, but there are also things on there that are simply not going to happen.
With those particular goals, take a look at them and ask yourself the following: Is that still a meaningful goal for you? If it is, great. What small step can you break out and get done in a 90-day sprint that will build momentum for you so that when you reach January you are already well on your way to feeling as though you have a head start of that goal? If it is not still a meaningful goal for you for whatever reason, just scrap it. No need to ruminate why or lament that you didn’t complete it. Don’t waste time or “woulda coulda shoulda.” You have enough on your plate. - What do you need? Not your business, your family, or your clients. You. Fall is the best time to ask yourself this question. Not January. We are exhausted in January. It is cold and the dark days of winter set in. And the adrenaline rush of turning the calendar and starting fresh is often short-lived. That’s just a fact. Fall is the perfect time to start a new well-being routine or ritual. There is an energy of productivity in the air with the back-to-school vibes that are out there, and schedules are naturally reconfigured in the Fall. Also, ask yourself this: How great will it feel in January when you can look back over the last 90 days and set a goal about your well-being when you already have momentum!
- Pick a strategic planning day in the next 90 days. If all else fails, and you have no time to do any of the above, do this. Right now, pull out your calendar and pick a day, an afternoon, or even a couple of hours this Fall to do some strategic planning for 2025. For business owners, I’m not just talking about setting your budgets and revenue goals. I’m talking real strategic planning for the next year. This pulls you off the never-ending gerbil wheel and forces you to think. Strategically. And this is not just for business owners. Everyone should sit down in the Fall and think about what is coming up for them in the next year. It’s a great time to think big, envision, and get outside of the proverbial box. How great would it be to start January knowing already what you are driving towards and have a strategy on how to get there.
Happy Fall!