The end-of-year race to ‘get it done’.

No matter how well you manage your time, business plan or project, sometimes you just are not going to implement everything by that year-end deadline.

We can talk to all the things to do better next time or what to avoid to decrease the likelihood of being in this predicament this time next year but that won’t help you now.

Consider these tactics to bring things in on time … or at least minimize the fallout:

• Get some help. Sure – it’s gonna cost you, but if not completing a project or activity could lose you a client or be a blot on your professional reputation, then it’s worth the expense.
• Determine what falls into the ‘it doesn’t need to be perfect it just needs to be done’ category and go for it.
• Stop working on anything that doesn’t have a ‘snowball’s chance’ – spending time on that won’t make a difference
• Prioritize the high impact but doable tasks – what is the most important, time-sensitive, most beneficial or ‘must have’ item. Get that done first.
• If a client is involved, let them know what is not going to deliver and renegotiate a due date. They will appreciate you being up front with them and help create a short list of what needs to happen before year end.

No one likes to time out – even if there’s a really good reason. But it happens. Create an action plan with achievable targets for incremental progress and success. There’s always next year (lesson learned).

Happy Holidays from

Robin and Deb