This article includes 10 easy goals you can achieve before the end of the year. Plus, 5 not so easy goals needed to survive the holidays. Also, a look at where you are in your overall goals/resolutions for the year.

Let’s finish the year strong!

The end of the year is coming fast! With holidays, PTO, and end of the year reviews your career, personal, and financial goals can easily take a hit. Don’t get overwhelmed! Keep up your momentum by setting these

10 easy goals that you can achieve before the end of the year: 

1. Get outside. Pick something(s) that already work well with your schedule like a pumpkin patch, checking out Halloween and Christmas decor in the neighborhood, or taking a hike.
2. Drink more water. The sugar intake from sweets and booze, plus the weather change may make you more dehydrated. Up your H2O ounce intake each day. Tip: using a tumbler or reusable bottle helps. 
3. Positive self-talk. Whether you’re on track to hit your annual goals or not, make sure you’re only using positive language when talking about it – even to yourself. It isn’t that you failed. It’s that you learned something; even if all you learned is that you need help. 
4. Declutter. In a few months more items will appear in your house seemingly overnight. Get ahead of the game by decluttering damaged and unused items to keep a welcoming environment. Plus, less stuff means less to clean before guests come over for the holidays. 
5. Create routines. Do you have a morning, night, or Sunday routine? Well now is as good a time as any to create one. It will help you manage stress through the upcoming busyness. For instance, on Sundays I meal prep and plan my outfits for the week. 
6. Brainstorm your next year goals. You don’t need to have everything set in stone, but start thinking about what you want to accomplish next year. I prefer to do this versus brainstorming and planning all in one sitting because it gives me a chance to think through what it will take to reach my goals and really prioritize which ones matter most. 
7. Look up help for goal setting. One of the main components of goal setting is reflecting at the end. Even if you met your goals, I bet there are ways you would like to do things differently next time. Maybe you struggled with setting boundaries, staying focused/disciplined, or building habits. Find a book, podcast, or coach to help you succeed in the upcoming year. 
8. Reduce waste. It’s an easy time to waste energy, time, money, food, etc. Be mindful and intentional in what you’re doing to keep waste low. This will also help reduce stress and guilt. 
9. Give back. There are many in need during the holidays. Volunteer your time, provide monetary donations (and get that tax write off), or donate gently used items from #4 above.
10. Be grateful! Setting goals for career or personal growth doesn’t mean you aren’t grateful for what you have now. Write down all the things you’re grateful for in your life. Also, be sure to say thank you to those around you. 

See, that wasn’t so bad, right? It’s a totally doable list of goals to achieve by the end of the year. Now, onto the

5 not so easy goals to set to survive the holidays:

1. Watch your eating habits. Don’t throw away all your hard work from this year by blowing your diet the last 2-3 months. It’s okay to have some indulgences of course, but make smart choices and spread them out so you don’t end up regretting it later.  
2. Set a holiday budget. Between time off, travel expenses, gifts and shopping your budget is about to be strained. Don’t load up credit cards that you end up paying interest on next year. Set a realistic budget and find ways to cut costs. Even better if you can do a side job or side hustle to earn extra money during the season. 
3. Carve out self-care time. Check in with your physical, spiritual, mental, and emotional health now. You may already be running on fumes so figure out how to recharge before the end of the year push. Plus, add specific self-care down time in your calendar through the end of the year to counteract what you KNOW is coming. Work will likely be busier with more people taking time off. The emotional toil of dealing with family and guests. Staying healthy through the holidays, and so on. 
4. Check in on your career. Have an honest look at your performance and growth progress. Have a development convo with your boss, get feedback from coworkers, and figure out what skills you want to improve on next year so that you can achieve your career goals. 
5. Let go of things that are no longer serving you. This is usually the hardest one for me, but that’s why it’s also the most important for me to focus on at the end of the year. Sometimes it’s hard to admit what is hurting rather than helping us. It could be something we used to value or something we’ve struggled with for a while. Whether it’s a job, a relationship, a habit, or another issue, take steps to let go and not carry that into the new year. 

These goals are usually tougher to stick to, so make sure you take the time to set these up right! It’s much better to spend the time up front to avoid these traps than the time, negative emotion, and stress afterwards trying to make up for these.  

Last but not least, let’s take a look at your

Overall goals, resolutions, or intentions you set for this year: 

Which number are you?

1. Got my goals finished early so I can relax and start planning for 2023.
   Yay! Kudos to you on that expert planning to give yourself some relief at the end of the year when you know it will be busy. My advice is to share your wins and planning tips with others to inspire them and help them achieve their annual goals as well. I also recommend adding the 10 easy goals above so that you have momentum going into the next year rather than feeling stagnant from a prolonged break. Another suggestion would be to stretch yourself a little more with the 5 not so easy goals to survive the holidays. 

2. I am on pace to finish by December 31.
   This is great! In order to stay focused during the upcoming busyness, my advice is to take time to reflect now on what attitude and actions helped you stay on track throughout the year so you can replicate that these next few months. I also recommend blocking out specific time on the calendar for self-care and downtime to keep up your pace through the end of the year. Finally, I highly recommend taking steps to proactively manage your emotions to reduce negativity and stress such as identifying emotional triggers and reframing them. 

3. I gave up months ago.
   If you’ve already thrown in the towel on hitting your annual goals then that’s okay. You’re not alone. Instead of wallowing in doubt or discouragement, look at what you could do differently next year. My advice is to learn more about how to set SMART goals that align with your lifestyle and are realistic for you to achieve. I also recommend giving it another shot. There’s still time, so pick one thing that matters most, adjust it to be more realistic and work to achieve it by the end of the year to help build momentum going into next year. Finally, I highly recommend finding better ways to hold yourself accountable. Whether that’s through physical or digital tracking, an accountability partner, or a coach. 

No matter which combination of the goals you choose above, remember to make your goals SMART. Break them into smaller realistic chunks that are easily measured/monitored so you can crush the end of the year!