Create strong quarterly goals to make the most of 2020 with a plan in place to brainstorm, articulate, and measure your most important goals.
If you could design a billboard for the year 2020, what might it say?
The year that flew by!
2020… can’t be over soon enough…
Topsy Turvy 2020
The only thing constant, is change.
Wherever you are, I’m guessing 2020 has been a bit of a wild ride. And I have some great news for you my friend…
There are three months left in 2020!
That’s right, there are three whole months ahead before you shut the door on 2020 and step into the new year of 2021.
These upcoming months are super special: October brings pumpkin spice and turning leaves, crisp November has election day, Thanksgiving and gratitude, and December wraps-up with cozy holidays by the fireplace.
With all of these upcoming milestones, the last quarter (aka October-December) of the year can often feels like the busiest.
If you’re ready to wrap-up 2020 with a bang, then today is the day to start 90-day goal planning. 90-days is the most powerful window for setting big, bold, actionable goals.
90-days gives you enough time to make significant progress on a big goal. You might bang out a book manuscript, train for a half marathon, find a new job, or build a new evening wind-down routine. Three months is enough time to adopt and master a new habit, even if you slip-up for a few days.
Whatever your next big dream might be, 90-days of meaningful action steps will build serious momentum to your goal.
90-days also focuses your energy on making every day count.
Think of July through September; didn’t it fly by? When you set a goal for three-months, you don’t have the luxury of procrastinating. The time for action is now.
In my professional life as an organizational strategist, 90-day goals are the gold-standard for driving change towards corporate goals. Large companies don’t just set ambitious goals, they also stay accountable through quarterly earnings report.
Writing down your goals is the first proven step to increase your chances of follow through. So that is exactly what we’re going to do today. Let’s do this!
Quarterly Goals for the End of 2020
Step #1 – Open your calendar and take a look at the months of October, November, and December. Get clear on your personal and professional commitments. Map out any upcoming milestones or important events – from critical deadlines to special celebrations. For me, I’m planning around a family wedding, a research presentation, and a Thanksgiving holiday.
Step #2 – Brainstorm your goals for the next 90-days. What 90-day goals would get you closer to your longer-term vision for the future? What 90-days goals would bring your mission and values to life?
Step #3 – Decide on your top three goals. Narrowing down your goals to your top three will harness your focus, bringing the momentum and results you want. If you’re an over achiever, describe your ‘why’ for each goal with one sentence. This extra credit step will amp-up your motivation when your friends tempt to derail your plans with a wine-and-zoom party!
Step #4 – Once you’ve drum-up the emotional energy and passion behind your goal, it’s time to get into specific strategies for success. Add specific monthly, weekly, and daily strategies for each goal. If you’re only sure of this month’s strategies, that’s completely a-okay. You’ll discover new strategies to move forward after the first month.
Step #5 – The fifth and final step for good quarterly goals… is to measure your progress! This doesn’t need to be a fancy excel spreadsheet or tracker. The main thing is to build accountability with yourself by tracking how many monthly, weekly, and daily strategies you complete. It helps to note this in the form of a completion percentage.
Woohoo! This is important work my friend, give yourself a big pat on the back. I’m on the other side of my laptop doing a happy dance and cheering you on.
If you’re ready to ‘run to the finish,’ let’s flip the script on 2020 with some new billboards. You’re free to download a ‘2020 run to the finish’ graphic from this post, or share with a friend to spread encouragement.
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