My assistant is an avid Black Friday shopper. After eating a turkey dinner with her family, she naps (I would blame tryptophan, but it’s really pre-game prep for her long night ahead), and then meets up with four of her closest mom-friends for 18 hours of shop til they drop (literally). To each his own I guess. Personally, I’ll stick to my Lazy Boy recliner and seconds on stuffing and green bean casserole.
The history of Black Friday is kind of interesting and filled with myths and meaning changes. In the end, the most widely accepted meaning of this frenzied shopping extravaganza is as a day for retail stores to move from loss to profit – a time to move their numbers from the red to the black. While retailers might find the last two months of the year to be the most fiscally rewarding, are they as productive for each of us? Can we metaphorically move from the red to the black in our own lives – our own sort of Black Friday?
What do I need to catch up on by the end of year? Is there an area of my life that’s been neglected and could use a boost? It’s completely plausible to use the last two months of the year to catch up (get even or finish in the black). Afterall, every major retailer does it.
Finishing the Year Strong: Areas to Bring to the Black
There’s plenty of time for shift and change. No need to wait for January or some New Year’s Resolution you may or may not stick to. Here are three areas you can turn toward “profit” before year’s end.
Your Goals
Whether it’s a business goal, personal goal, or some house project you’ve sat on the backburner, goals take focus, intention, and action. You’ll be surprised the strides you can make between now and when that Times Square ball drops.
- Choose to face that goal head on. It won’t be completed if you just ignore it. Putting it off didn’t work the last ten months and it won’t work now.
- Put the goal in writing. Research shows we are more likely to complete a goal if we write it out. So skip the notes option in your Iphone and grab a pen and paper. Write your goal down and stick it up where you will see it every day.
- Make a to-do list and a not-to-do-list. What small tasks must be completed in order to complete the big picture? What distractions must be avoided like the plague? Cut out those items from your agenda that don’t align with your top priorities.
- Bite off one chunk at a time. If you’ve been putting this goal off for ten months, you likely won’t finish it all in one day. Rather than being overwhelmed, create snowball momentum by making consistent progress each day. Baby steps lead to running.
Your Well Being
Because of our clock-driven, bottom-dollar focused, over-active, consumeristic society, many of us have passed the first ten months of the year running ourselves ragged. Take intentional steps to end your year with an improved well-being.
- Don’t conform to the stress of the season. Remember the magic of it and be refreshed and renewed with the wonder and excitement and gatherings of family and friends.
- Live in the present. Don’t dwell on any failures from earlier in the year and don’t borrow troubles from next year by worrying. Choose to live in this moment on this day. Take off the blinders and see the people and things you enjoy right in front of you.
- Call the doctor. By this time of year, many people have met their insurance deductibles, so it’s a beneficial time to squeeze in any medical care you’ve been putting off. Many doctors anticipate a rise in procedures at the end of the year.
- Consider your mental well-being. Trained counselors can help you change your direction, tackle and resolve problems, and move you to a healthier place mentally, emotionally, spiritually, and even physically. Don’t put it off for January when a helping hand is there today.
Your Time
Time is an interesting thing. You get 24 hours/1440 minutes/86400 seconds a day. What do you spend them on? You can’t make up for lost time; but, you CAN reevaluate and redirect how you spend your time now. Finish the year strong by taking back your calendar and committing time to what matters.
- Say no. For some, this can be the hardest word in the English language to say. Let me be direct: it is OKAY to say no to something. You do not have to attend every single open house and Christmas program or agree to bake all of the desserts for family gatherings. Stick to those family traditions (insert link to that blog after posted) that really matter to you and your family and chunk the rest.
- Be still. It seems odd to spend your time doing nothing, but it’s not nothing. Being still is a biblical command and for good reason. Your well being (as we previously mentioned) and productivity will both benefit if you pause long enough to refuel, embrace peace, and be mindful of who you are and what your purpose is for today.
- Take back your calendar. If you do not master the clock, it will master you. The only way to use your 24 hours productively is to schedule it as so. If not, distractions will pull you in opposing directions and suck your hours away.
- Remember who made time. God created the 24 hour day and gave each of us the exact same number of hours each day. There are some things He asks you to do with that time (talk to Him, talk with others about Him, etc), and He gave you just enough hours to complete those tasks. If you’re not getting it all done, it’s time to re-evaluate priorities. Be faithful with your time and He will be faithful to you. There are many days where my to-do list has felt full and I didn’t know how I’d get it all done. Remember the feeding of the 5,000? Ask God to multiple your fish and loaves (in this case, time).
Struggling to turn things around? Trying to pick yourself back up and finish the year in gain? The helping hand of a trained counselor can shift your journey. Contact me today to start moving from the red to the black.
-Joel Walton