What Will You Do With the Rest of 2016?

Even though I hate pumpkin spice lattes (Sorry, #PSLs), fall is my favorite season. Most years, I’m thrilled when Labor Day passes, because I can start wearing scarves, making soup and using the weather as an excuse to stay home again. But this year, when I looked at the calendar and saw that Q3 is over and that October is upon us, I had a moment of panic. Where did nine months of the year go?

At the end of 2015, I was getting married, and shortly thereafter, going on my honeymoon – both of those events seem like they just happened yesterday. Adding to my panic is the start of my third trimester next week, meaning that in just three short months, not only will it be the thick of winter and the start of a new year, but my husband and I will have an actual living, breathing human child.

The good news is, I am great under pressure, and with the realization that we have a mere 12 weeks before we ring in another new year, I put together some tips to make the most of the rest of this year and start 2017 on a high note.

Take Stock.

Each year at No Limit Agency*, we set goals -- as an agency and personally -- and now is the time to look back on those goals. Goals are easy to create – it’s the follow-through that can be tough. Dig out those 2016 goals and take a good, hard look at them. Be honest with yourself as you review them. Make note of which ones still need to be done. If you didn’t complete any of them, you’re in luck; you still have three months left to prioritize!

Reset.

Does anyone consistently create goals and then achieve every single one, exactly how you wanted? Maybe I’m just a deadbeat, but inevitably as things in life and work shift, so do my goals. Instead of feeling bad about not achieving a goal, review what you set out to achieve and ask yourself “Is this reasonable? Is this achievable? Should I unpack this goal further into more tangible, more achievable sub-goals?” Be realistic and set yourself up for success.

Look Ahead.

When searching for a quote about the importance of planning, I came across two seemingly contradictory quotes – but both apply well to our industry.

“By failing to prepare, you are preparing to fail.” -- Benjamin Franklin

“Life is what happens to us while we are making other plans.” -- Allen Saunders

In PR, content marketing and franchise development, we have to plan ahead for a number of reasons – most importantly, we have to be aligned with our clients’ goals/strategy, get the necessary approvals, build in enough time to create campaigns and content, and make sure that our internal teams are prepared to execute.

At the same time, we don’t want to over-plan, either. In our industry, changes happen every day. We need to be nimble and make sure that we leave enough room in our plans to jump on news.

The above does indeed sound contradictory, but it’s about finding the perfect balance.
Share.

The best way to achieve your goals is to share them with someone. Anyone. A colleague, your significant other, your best friend, that weird guy on the train. Hold yourself accountable by putting your goal out into the ether. To that end, here are my Q4 goals:

• Solidify processes for all areas of the digital team, making us a well-oiled machine heading into 2017. 
• Hire a new writer to work on content for 1851 and our soon-to-be-launched real estate publication.
• Plan editorial for the aforementioned real estate publication.
• Personal Goal: Get ready for Baby Moorman. Even though my husband keeps calling him Carl, he still needs a real name, and we need to learn how to… take care of him. I’ve never changed a diaper so I have a lot to learn in the next three months. Eeek!

 You have three months left of 2016 – make this year one for the books.