It's the most wonderful "AND PRODUCTIVE" time of the year!

We are entering that time of year where life usually gets very busy.  There is excitement in the air, people attend holiday parties, the books are closing on 2019 and many people are able to tack on a couple of extra vacation days to their holidays.  This is also the time of year when highly productive people, (5 Star candidates) really separate themselves from the rest of the pack.  These people maximize this time of year so that it can be highly productive, rewarding and also very enjoyable.  These are some of the actions that highly effective people take during the month of December.

1.  They set their goals for 2020. This will define their objectives and it will give them clarity and purpose.  Most will also establish checkpoints for 2020 so that they can track their progress against their goals.  This exercise is NOT a task for them!  This activity creates a lot of positive energy and excitement and it will do the same for anyone who also follows this strategy.  Productive people will also take an assessment of all the key pillars of their life (sometimes referred to as spokes on their wheel of life) so that they can set goals around areas of their life that they wish to improve. (i.e. bent or broken spokes)

2.  For productive people, time management becomes a priority at this time of year.  Do not assume that everything will get completed with the extra vacation days that you will have in December.  This is considered a recipe for failure.  It is a very demanding month for social, family and work activities so organization is essential.  On the social side, it is easy to feel the negative effects of too many Christmas parties and other functions.  Highly effective and productive people will pick their spots on which social gatherings will receive their full attention and they plan their days before and after these events accordingly.  Effective people don’t need to over-extend or over-indulge in food or beverage at every party or social event.  They will often follow the motto for many successful CEO’s, ATTEND, ENGAGE and EXIT. It is important to not be feeling the ill effects of a social event on a day that you had set for productive 2020 planning or spending quality time with family. 

3.  Productive people will use the next month to document their successes from 2019, update their portfolio of success and update their resume and LinkedIn profile.  Perhaps you have even had a recent performance evaluation where you had to discuss your successes.  Write them down now before you forget as it is much more difficult to remember them when you NEED to update your resume.  If you have not had your performance review yet, use this exercise to allow you to better prepare for that meeting and to give you added confidence for that conversation.

 
Farewell,

Mike