You’ve got five weeks till the end of year… Make the most out of the quiet before the storm

In last week’s countdown piece I noted how the holidays take a big bite out of the remaining productive time in the year.

Now here we are. We have a holiday two days away and everything’s slowed down. You are having a hard time wrangling the support and feedback you need to get anything done. And, truth be told, you are also feeling a little less engaged in your assignments than usual.

So what should you do? Check out for the week and write it off as a loss?

Of course not. Slow or not, this week doesn’t have to be a waste.

Wrap up the minimum tasks in front of you, then, instead of taking the bait and “catching up on email” as the lax workplace attitude likely surrounding you this week seems to encourage, try this strategic move. Shift your focus onto the big responsibilities you have coming up in the new year. Namely- start nailing down your quarterly goals for 2014. (Note – I didn’t say your plan for 2014. Because I am sure you are long done with that. I’m focused on the translation of that plan into tangible quarterly goals and milestones.)

You don’t need to finish your 2014 goal setting this week

You just need to get started and set the process into forward motion while you have a bit of time and space to do so.

Remember- when you get back from Thanksgiving break you are likely to be “assaulted” with everyone elses’ end-of-year commitments that somehow involve you. Then, it will be twice as challenging to find the time to get started on 2014. But if the process is already underway, it will be much easier to dip in when possible and complete it by its December 31st deadline (instead of rushing through it all on December 30th).

So, in this moment of peace before the Christmas rush, set your goals for a happy 2014.