Five Tips to Maximize Success and Minimize End-of-Year Stress

The summer flew by and here we are, drinking pumpkin spice lattes, planning for our fantasy football drafts and scoping out the halloween candy displays at Target. Before we know it, it will be Q4, and we’ll be sprinting toward the end of the year. I always have the best intentions to plan ahead where I can so the end of year isn’t as crazy as it always seems to be. Here are the five things I’ll be doing with my team this year. What would you add to the list?

1. Revisit your yearly goals now. You should be reviewing your yearly goals for yourself and your team on a regular basis. But, we all also live in the real world where January becomes June very quickly. So, take some time this month to review your goals while there is still time. How are you/your team tracking - if you are falling behind, what can you do in the last few months of the year to make progress? Are all goals still applicable to the current state of your team/department - are any modifications needed based on new priorities, products or clients? Make a commitment to regularly update and share progress both with your team and those above you for the rest of the year.

2. Book holiday events & year-end meetings. Q4 calendars fill up quickly with both work and personal commitments. Get important holiday events/gatherings scheduled now for your internal teams and important clients. Also get those year-end wrap up conversations scheduled to ensure you get face time with your customers before holiday break.

3. Check your PTO. I encourage everyone to take all their PTO. See how many days you have left and ask your team to do the same. You can coordinate calendars and make sure all have the opportunity to rest and relax after a long year.

4. Look for any other benefits that may be “use it or lose it” each year. This may not apply to everyone, but some company benefits (like education reimbursement) typically have yearly allotments. There is still time now to take advantage of all the benefits your employer offers to you on a yearly schedule.

5. Get a jump on year-end reporting. Pulling a full year of sales data, customer analytics and ad campaign performance data can take time to gather and analyze. While I know you’ve been looking at numbers regularly, compiling a full year of data is a separate endeavor. If you haven’t already, start gathering information for your year-end reports - what are the trends, what story are you trying to tell and what can you do in the last few months of the year to improve the ending?

What other tips, tricks or hacks do you use to make things a little smoother for yourself and your team as we approach the holidays?