4 Ways To Beat Holiday Chaos And Finish The Year Strong

It is almost the end of November, officially there is only one month left in 2019. It is around this time the wheels start coming off the bus as work gets hectic, social events start piling up, and all focus, discipline, and motivation seems to get lost in the last month of the year. Though it is important to enjoy the holiday season and to make time to see family and friends, it is also important to finish the year strong, and not let your goals and discipline completely unravel at the finish line. There are ways to strike a balance, and things you can do to avoid totaling your mind and body into the end of the year. Here are a few ways you can finish the year strong:

Stick To Your Routine As Much As Possible

Try to stick to your usual schedule as much as possible, to maintain as much normalcy as possible, even if it is only for a fraction of the day. Keep additional holiday events, like shopping or a party to that time of the day. It will help maintain your focus and productivity at work and so they will not derail your day, week, and life for the next month.

Try and maintain a healthy diet when you do not have an event to attend, and try and get some exercise to keep your mind sharp and your body feeling good as the weather turns and as your stress increases this time of year. Don’t let your day get controlled by the one holiday event of the day, because then those events will control the next two months. Stick to your routine as much as possible, and you will feel healthier and happier at the end of the year.

Write A Mini Year-In-Review

Start taking stock of your year now. Consider the goals you set, the progress you made, and what you weren’t able to accomplish. Ask yourself the following questions: What did you do well and what did you not do well? What were the obstacles in your way? Is there more you could have done to avoid them? How can you strengthen your weaknesses? When you think about your strengths, do you understand why you excel at them? Try as best you can to measure the exact progress on your goals, and thoroughly evaluate why you believe you succeeded with certain goals and failed with others.

Write Goals You Can Still Accomplish This Year

After you do your mini-review, consider whether you can still make progress on certain goals, or even accomplish some of them before the end of the year. If you have come up a bit short on a couple of goals, whether it is finishing a project at home or a work project, or developing a new habit, aim to see them through by the end of the year, so you feel good and are off to a great start as you begin the new year.

Think About Your Goals For Next Year

Though traditionally people begin to think about goals or resolutions for the New Year at the end of December or the beginning of January, it’s proactive and effective to think about them now, not later. Once you’ve reflected on this past year, and wrote down goals for the next two months, it is time to think about the upcoming year and what goals you want to set and the ways you want to challenge yourself. Then you can choose to get a head start or choose to be ready to hit the ground running at the beginning of January.

This article was written by Frances Bridges from Forbes and was legally licensed by AdvisorStream through the NewsCred publisher network.