It’s August 24th. Are things starting to wind down for you as the summer comes to a close? We have two more weeks until Labor Day is upon us. Kids are returning to college campuses and many people are getting in their last trips to the beach or the lake before school starts. Mornings are beginning to get cooler, which is the telltale sign that fall is quickly approaching.

I love the lull of this two-week period—it gives me the opportunity to give the final quarter of the year a really good look. It’s the time I take to plan my final run for the year (not physically). No other quarter in the year has this lull. I always want to finish the year strong, as I am sure you do as well. What still needs to get done? What is the plan and how will I execute it (we talked about this yesterday)? Have I missed or overlooked anything that needs my attention? Now is the time to delve into this because once September arrives, the last quarter tends to feel like we are unwilling passengers on a roller coaster filled with a series of exciting ups and downs and unforeseen twists that only rolls to a stop sometime after Christmas.

Carve out some time to think about how you want this year to end. If you are someone who gets a year-end review, this planning is critical; bosses will always remember most what we did more recently, so we might as well make it great. Finishing strong is more for us then for anyone else though. Take advantage of the lull. Plan out your 4th quarter. It’s important, otherwise we will simply ride the runaway rollercoaster.

Let’s GO! WE GOT THIS!

BETH