The end of the year is quickly approaching and, if you’re like most people, there are a number of things you need to finish before 2025. This can be a source of stress and frustration, complicating not only your work life, but also taking away from your personal life. So what can you do to solve that problem?

Here are several suggestions for creating a strategy to better manage your time and achieve your end of year business goals:

Write down the goals you want to achieve by the end of the year - We like to believe we can manage our goals and schedule in our head, but documenting things helps to clarify what it is we’d like to achieve and helps hold us accountable.
Break goals into smaller tasks - One of the reasons many people procrastinate on tasks is the perceived complexity; however, many of these goals can be broken down into steps that are more easily understood and completed. This can also make it easier to estimate the time to complete each step as well as the whole project. Writing down these tasks and making them mini-goals will increase the likelihood of getting them done.
Prioritize your goals - Because time is limited, you must consider what can be completed based on the complexity of tasks as well as deadlines. Consider deadlines based on legal or financial ramifications for being missed as well as those that may challenge professional relationships or reputations.
Schedule your goals and tasks - Blocking out time for these steps greatly increases the chances of things getting done. It also increases the ability to focus by removing some opportunities for distractions.
Delegate or ask for help - While you may want to complete many things based on pride, you may have to accept that finishing a task with someone else’s help is the real win. Consider outsourcing a task if it means achieving a goal.
Communicate - If you need help, reach out to people sooner rather than later so you can find out if they can help. If you’re at risk of missing a deadline or achieving a goal, especially if it has ramifications, let the relevant people or agencies know so you can make adjustments or negotiate a schedule. It’s far better to inform people before a deadline than after so they can make their own adjustments.

Hopefully this list gives some ideas or suggestions that help you move you closer to achieving your goals!

- John Thrush